Strangers Like Us
by WolfKeeper989
Summary: Sly finds out he has a duaghter after defeating ClockLa. Later on, he learns that she needs an operation and that a mafia boss is after her. After reuniting with Carmelita during a case, he finds that they all have more in common than he thought.
1. Chapter 1

It's me again…yes, me! Another story. This idea came to me one day out of the blue. There are a lot of awww…. how sweet Sly Cooper fics but I think this one will make you cry. Well hope ya like! Oh yeah, this DOES NOT FOLLOW THE SLY 3 STORYLINE, well completely anyway!

**Update (4/16/13): OKAY... I am currently posting the prequel to this story. It has basically rendered this version of this story obsolete... at least until finish the prequel and come back to update this one. So, please note that this story will change in the future and I ask that you just be patient with me as I try to catch up.**

**Thanks,**

**Wolfkeeper989 **

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, and Sister Ann belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them.

Strangers Like Us

**Chapter 1**

Isn't it amazing what we can do with genetics these days? I mean, a woman who couldn't conceive a child was out of luck in the old days. But now she can adopt or try to get pregnant with in vitro fertilization. But with precious cargo such as life there comes large amounts of responsibility, some will take on the responsibility, but then there are those who won't. Then with the advances we have made in the field of medicine there are those who use them responsibly and then there are those who will use it for the wrong reasons. That's why the Macavity Medical Research Center in France was closed. They were abusing the advances. They were planning to use in vitro fertilization to make a ton of money by allowing people to have children with other people without having to have an affair. Can someone say chaos? But Interpol got wind of the situation and sent the Foxs to take care of it. Joseph Macavity was known as the boss of the Macavity Medical enterprises and a multibillionaire. But to Carmelita Montoya Fox and her older sister Carmen Fox, he was the boss of the Macavity Mafia, an underground Mafia group that was quickly rising in the French underground. They were happy to shut part of his cash crops down. Carmelita was even more pleased because she was able to throw one of her oldest and most fearsome rivals, Nautica Macavity behind bars for a little while…

"I'll get you Carmelita! I'll get you back!" screamed Nautica. Carmelita just laughed. She dared Nautica to try. That was years ago and Nautica would get her back later but the price that she would have to pay for it would be paid by the pain and suffering of many and almost cost the life of a loving father and his daughter…

**XXXX**

Sister Ann gazed fondly at the young sleeping vixen. Her curly red hair fell across her cherubic face accenting the freckles that lined the bridge of her nose. She sighed; the girl had been at Happy Camper's Orphanage for almost fives years now. Her mother dropped her off there when she was barely three weeks old. Her name was Desiree Veronica Vanderbelt while her mother's name was still unknown. She found out the child's name through the information given by blood test and fingerprints. But despite the young nun's efforts the child's mother could not be located because the mother was listed as an anonymous. The middle aged nun, now in deep thought, walked over to the window and looked out at the moon, which gleamed like a flawless pearl in the cobalt sky. The moon was believed to be a wise and caring mother to her children of the night. She was always willing to shed her light wherever it was needed. Right then it was shinning on a certain well-known thief as he glided down to the earth.

Sly Cooper landed with a soft thud in a small bed of grass across from the Eiffel Tower. He began to start the long trek home as he chuckled to himself. He could just imagine Carmelita's face when she walked into her office and saw that bottle of wine on her desk.

"Hey, Bent…Bentley!" called Sly into the microphone.

"Yeah Sly?" said a soft voice. Guilt instantly gripped him.

"I am heading through the satellites and I might be out of touch for a little while." said Sly.

"10-4." said Bentley. Sly felt extremely guilt-ridden. Most of the pain his friends were feeling was because of him. Murray had lost his van, which was practically his life. Bentley had lost his ability to walk. The pain in Sly's chest became overwhelming as he thought of poor Bentley. He continued to walk with his head bowed. He continued walking through the rows of satellite dishes that surrounded their underground hideout.

"Why the long face, Cooper?"

"Huh?" said Sly snapping out of his gaze. "Oh. Hi Beatrice," Sitting in the dome of one of the satellite dishes was a fruit bat with blonde hair. She was an accomplice, aid, and friend to the Cooper Gang. She grew up in the same orphanage. She was a techno genius like Bentley and just as slick as Sly. "Nothing, just heading home," She smiled sweetly.

"Liar! I know you. You are a thief but you're an honest one and a gentleman. Now, tell me what's up." She said. Sly couldn't help but smile,

"Finally got rid of Clockwerk but Bentley and Murray had to pay some high prices for my problem."

"Did they? How big?" she asked.

"Murray lost his van and Bentley…lost his ability to walk. But me? I come out scott free!" Sly said bitterly.

"Did you? Tell me, can Murray get another van, I mean there are other vans, right?" she asked. Sly cocked his head not quite understanding where she was going with this logic.

"Yeah, but _that_ van was _his_ van. He put his heart into that van," said Sly. She nodded sympathetically.

"Right. He took the time to make that van his. He can make another one his as well. But nothing will replace his first one but now he now has something to work towards in the future. As far as Bentley is concerned, who knows, the paralysis might not even be permanent. But even if it is with Bentley's mind, he could probably find a cure for it. If his back is broken then it can be mended, just not right now and it will take time," said Beatrice. She always was the wise one of the bunch.

"Maybe but I still feel bad about it," whispered Sly, "maybe I should let them go; I mean they have their own lives. They vowed to stick with me during this Clockwerk business and now it's over."

"They will always be your friends, Sly and so will I," said Beatrice looking at Sly lovingly like a sister would look at a brother. "But what would you do?"

"I don't know… I'll find something. What about you?" He asked.

"I'm getting married." She said half boasting.

"Really? That's great. Bryan finally got you a ring. You're lucky he is a good guy," said Sly. She smiled and said,

"I know. But, still, what about you?"

"I'll find something." he said shrugging his shoulders. He had no idea what he was going to do with himself the main focus of his training and scheming was for revenge. He had gotten that now what was he going to do?

"Wow, you gave up your future." said Beatrice sadly.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't you see?" she asked incredulously as she hopped down from her perch, "You gave up your life, Sly. The past you could have had with your father was taken by Clockwerk then in order to get revenge you gave up your future. I mean that's all your life was ruled by. I mean you completed your main goals in life: you got your family's book back, you became a Master thief, and you finally got rid of Clockwerk. Is there nothing else you want to accomplish or did you let your need for revenge throw your life to the breeze?" she asked her voice edged with a serious tone.

Sly was at a loss for words, she was telling the truth. When he thought about it, she was right. All he had was his roots and his destiny to fulfill. But now that he had accomplished that, there was nothing left. He began to stare at the cane that had been in his family for generations. For a moment it looked that cane had lost its shine. Beatrice's voice jarred him from his trance.

"Don't start second guessing yourself, Sly, I'm just saying you should stop thinking and living like Sly Cooper that last of the Cooper line and start thinking like Sly. Just relax a little and _live _my friend. The thief's life maybe over but what about the man?" asked Beatrice, "That's Carmelita's problem too, she cannot distinguish the fifth generation Fox in the family from plain old Carmelita Fox. This leaves her blind and her future in darkness when it comes to life and the social aspects of it. She will be remembered as one of Interpol's finest but nothing more. You will be too, if you don't make an impact on just one life Sly. Just one, Sly, that's all it takes. You will leave a part of yourself with that person and then that person will leave apart of themselves and you with another person and so on and so forth." said Beatrice. Sly nodded, he understood completely now. Her words were inspiring; he looked up at her and smiled.

"Thanks Beatrice! Good luck with your marriage!" he yelled as he ran for home…

**Two months later… **

When he got home that night two months ago, Sly announce to the guys that he was wanting to go on a trip to try and sort through his life and figure out what he was going to do with what was left of it. He also gave them the choice of leaving Paris to pursue their own dreams. Bentley headed to Florida in the US to work for NASA and Murray went to California and started a Car Customizing business. He missed them but was glad they were doing well. Sly traveled around the world and actually noticed the world through daylight. He had seen the major landmarks around the world but only by night. He had spent two months just finding out about himself. He had come back to Paris when Bentley called asking how they were going to tie up the loose ends of their financial estate.

He agreed to take the rest of the money in the active accounts out and give them to the orphanage, to take of any outstanding markers that Interpol could use to trace them. Sly walked up the hill towards Happy Camper's Orphanage with a smile on his face as he remembered the fun times he and guys had here despite their title of orphans. He reached the yard area that was a rich green like it always was and stopped to watch the children play. They were all just playing and loving life as if nothing was wrong. He smiled, if only the world were nothing but this. But the world was tough and days like these were only illusions. He continued up to the front door and dropped the check in the mailbox on the door before turning and leaving. Then he was almost halfway down the hill when he heard someone call out his name. He turned around and saw the young nun that ran orphanage rushing towards him. As soon as she reached him she threw her arms around him in an embrace.

"Hello, Annie. How are you?" He asked as she released him. Ann was the younger sister of the nun that used to run the orphanage. They: Sly, Bentley, Murray, Ann, Bryan, and Beatrice all were about the same age. So they "grew up" together so to speak.

"I am well but there is something I need to discuss with you." she said her voice serious. She led him back to the orphanage and out into the backyard. There were a few children were playing together here too. "See that vixen over there?" She pointed to a redheaded little fox that was currently swinging on one of the swings of the swing set. He nodded. "She came here when she was barely three weeks old. That was five years ago today. She is very bright, crafty, and has a sweet tongue. But she is as sweet as honey and witty, too much for just a five year old. But that's not the point, do you notice anything different about her?" asked Ann. Sly studied the little vixen for a moment. She had freckles across the bridge of her nose and bright green eyes that were shielded by a pair of small glasses. She seemed pretty ordinary…then he noticed it. There were two black bands around those liquid green eyes. Then her tail had three rings around it just like his. He looked at Ann with disbelief written all over his face. "She reminds me of a certain raccoon I once knew. I learned her name from a blood test. I could not find her mother, because she was listed as anonymous; but I did discover who her father was. I was shocked to say the least, and I still can't believe it."

"Believe what?" asked Sly, fearing he already knew the answer.

"You're the father." said Ann looking at him expectantly. He watched the young vixen as she hopped out of the swing, and started bouncing a blue ball. Then she tried to shoot it into the hoop, but missed. She didn't get upset, though. She just went and picked up the ball and tried again. She kept missing but never gave up. Then at one point, the ball rolled behind her and she turned around to pick it up. At that moment, she happened to look up at Sly and Ann, her eyes ablaze with that unmistakable Cooper determination. Her eyes met his and they locked. He began to see some of himself in her. Then something in both of them clicked. She was his daughter… but how? He had never been with a woman in his entire life! So how could have she been made? Besides, he wasn't even sure he could be a father! He had no real experience with raising children…

"Something in me says she is my daughter but I have never been with a woman in my life! How-" he started, not able to take his eyes away from the young kit.

"I figured you had no idea she existed or how she came to be here. But I think it might have been before they shut down Macavity Medical, and a crazy fantic could have conceived her through their illegal vitro fertilization program. They could steal the genetic material needed for conception and implant it for a fee… but that couldn't be it, because the organization admitted that they had only completed one successful experimental birth, and then got "rid" of the evidence." said Ann.

"What if getting "rid" of the "evidence" was dumping "it" here?" suggested Sly. Ann nodded.

"That's just what I was thinking." said Ann.

"What's her name?" asked Sly as he watched her turn and try to make a basket again and missed.

"Desiree." Ann answered. The vixen went and picked up ball and studied it. Then she looked at the basket. It stood towering above her. Every time she shot the ball either missed completely or came up a little short. She looked at the ball then at the hoop and basket. Then she pulled at the collar of her t-shirt and stuck the ball in her shirt. Then to Sly and Anne's amusement the vixen started towards the basket and began to climb it! Then when she reached the top of the pole and the start of the backboard she stopped, and using one hand: maneuvered the ball out of her shirt and stuck it in the basket.

"She is defiantly_ your _daughter." commented Ann with a laugh. Sly laughed with her. The young vixen then shimmied down the pole and ran back to the swings. Sly couldn't help the rush of pride he felt in his daughter. _His _daughter. The significance of this phrase hit Sly. He was a father and he was responsible for her. He made a vow to himself that as long as he could breathe he would take care of her and do anything to protect her. "Do you want to meet her?" asked Ann.

"Yes, but how long would it take me to have daughter home with me?" asked Sly with a smile.

"Just as quick as you can sign your name." Ann said. He nodded. Ann cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Desiree!"

**That's it! Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

Glad you guys are enjoying my fic!!! Thank to all my reviewers the ones for this story and my other Sly fic!! Well, to answer the question about the mother: All will be explained in later chapters!!! Now about how Desiree came here without Sly giving up his virginity: It will be explained in this chapter. Now on with my story…

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, and Sister Ann belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them.

**Chapter 2**

The young vixen's ears perked up at the sound of her name. She looked up at Sister Ann and jumped out of the swing. She closed the distance between herself and the young nun in the blink of an eye. She was staring up at the young nun with wide innocent eyes. Then she spoke in a small angelic voice,

"Yes, Sissy Ann?" Sly couldn't help but smile.

"This is your…daddy," said Ann. The young vixen stared at Sly for a moment then began to smile. She took a tentative step towards Sly and wrapped her arms around his knees affectionately. He felt his heart melt. The little vixen already had him wrapped around her little finger and they had only just met. He scoped her up in his arms and hugged her back. "Hey, it may take me a while together all the information and paperwork you will need. So, why don't you go spend the rest of the day with your daughter and get to know her then come back to get the final details worked out?" He smiled and nodded. "Just to let you know…she enjoys spaghetti and vanilla ice cream…" Sly nodded taking the hint.

"Hey Desiree, let's go get some dinner." said Sly as he glanced at his watch that read 4:30pm. The girl stared at Sly for moment before nodding her head. He smiled and nodded to Ann. She gestured to the door behind them. Sly thanked her and left with Desiree waving goodbye behind him…

Sly stopped by a small market and a pasta shop to get the things he needed for the spaghetti. Then on the way back to his two-bedroom apartment he got her some ice cream. She really enjoyed it and she began to loosen up a bit. She began to point to things she knew and name them. Every new thing she saw, she wanted to know what its name was, what it did, how it worked, and why. Her enthusiasm for learning was overwhelming and tiring at the same time. She was nothing but a furry little ball of energy. She was bouncing from place to place easily thrilled by any new sight or sound. He couldn't help smiling whenever her eyes lit up. Come to mention it, he hadn't stopped smiling since he met her.

**At the apartment…**

"_Wow_! Daddy this place sooo big!!" squealed the little vixen with delight as she looked around at everything. He was amazed at how she was awed by everything no matter how small it was. She didn't care that they were living in a small two-bedroom apartment or that Sly didn't own a car, to her this was a mansion. He put down the groceries and began to search around the small den for the remote. When he finally found it underneath a small pile of schoolwork on his computer desk, he turned on the TV. He then turned it to some Mickey Mouse cartoons that still ran on TV sometimes. Desiree sat down quietly and began to watch the black and white cartoon. He made a mental note to buy some children's tapes for her to watch and some toys to play with tomorrow. He then grabbed the groceries and proceeded into the kitchen to make dinner. He began to prepare the food as he thought to himself. "Desiree will definitely need some new clothes, I need to call Beatrice and get Desiree in school, not to mention I am going to have to work overtime to support me and her…" His thoughts were interrupted when Desiree's small voice chimed,

"Look Daddy! I drawed Mickey Mouse! See?" Sly's heart swelled with pride. On a sheet of computer paper she had drawn Mickey… very accurately. He smiled at his daughter and said,

"Let's put it right here on the refrigerator, so that everyone can see what are good artist you are!" She smiled. She handed the paper to him but then said,

"Stop! I wanna do it."

"Okay." said Sly giving her back the drawing. She then proceeded to try stick on the refrigerator but it would not stay and floated to the ground. She didn't get discouraged but picked it up and tried again. Then when the second attempt failed she looked back at Sly as if to ask for his help. He then stooped down to her level and removed one of the letter magnets from the old refrigerator and showed it to Desiree. She stared at him and then at the magnet then back at him with a quizzical look on her small cherubic features. "This is a magnet," he explained, "it's magic, see?" He put the magnet back on the fridge and removed his hand. Her eyes went wide with disbelief. She walked up to the fridge door and removed the magnet and then put the magnet back up to the door then gave a small gasp as the magnet was pulled from her hand and onto the door. She looked at her discarded drawing on the floor then picked it up. She put it against the fridge door and held it in place with one hand while getting the magnet with the other. She placed the magnet on the piece of paper and removed her hands. She began to smile when the picture finally stayed put. She then turned around and hugged Sly. He hugged her back. He then got up checked on the food that was ready to be eaten. Then once he finished stirring up the food he turned his attention back to his daughter. She was still admiring the picture. He walked back to her side. He stooped back down again saying, "Look at this you can use these letters to spell things. Like…" Sly began to spell the word "Daddy" using the letter that was holding her drawing to door as the first letter. "Can you spell?"

"Some…" admitted the young vixen quietly.

"Well why do you spell some words using the magnets while I fix the plates, okay?" he asked. She nodded. He turned back to the stove. Then when he finished setting the table and fixing the plates he turned to call Desiree to the table and saw something that truly touched his heart. Desiree had arranged the letters so that they read; "I love Daddy" the last word being the same word that Sly had spelled earlier. Sly was so overwhelmed that he felt tears come to his eyes. He had never loved someone so much, maybe except a certain fiery police vixen, as much as he loved his daughter. He remembered what the nun that was running the orphanage when he was there once told him,

"There is no love as sweet or rich as a child's love. They will love you no matter what you did or do. So cherish it because the love of a child can never be replaced like a lover can." He had asked her why she worked so hard to take care of us when no one else wanted them. That was what she said to him but he never understood it until now. So what if Sly had been and still was a thief, lived a low-income life, and couldn't give her everything she needed and wanted? To her, he was Daddy and she loved him just for that. With tear filled eyes Sly walked over to the little vixen and the fridge then took some magnets and spelled, "I love u 2". He smiled at her and said,

"Let's go eat."

After dinner…

Desiree stared wide-eyed at the little room that was now hers.

"This is my room?"

"Yes, this is your room. Now, it's time for bed," said Sly as he helped her into bed.

"Wow, I get my own room! I feel like a princess!" squealed Desiree with a smile as she snuggled under the covers. Sly tucked her in and nuzzled her nose with his causing her giggle before he said,

"Of course you do! You're _my _little princess!" She giggled and said,

"Goodnight, daddy." He smiled at her as he walked to the doorway.

"If you need me I'll be in the den, okay?" He watched her as she nodded and then cut off the light. As Sly was walking down the hall he heard a small thump. He turned around and headed back to Desiree's room to make sure she was all right. As he entered the doorway he saw something he would never forget. Desiree was on her knees with her head bowed over clasped hands, praying.

"Tank you, for finally giving me a daddy, God. I know I have asked for lots and never always acted like I was s'pposed ta but you gave me a daddy anyway. So tank you and I _prowmise _to be good for daddy and you! But if I die befores I wake please don't let the devil get me! Amen." She then crawled back under the covers and went to sleep. Sly then said his own silent prayer of thanks to God for providing him with a future that came in the form of a little vixen named Desiree…

Sly was just finishing cleaning the kitchen when he heard his small fax machine hum to life. He walked into the den and retrieved some papers from the fax machine next to his computer desk. It was information on Desiree that Anne had promised to send. He separated the ones he needed to sign from the informative ones. Then he took the ones with info on Desiree then sat down on his small tan sofa and began to read over them. His expressions changed every once in a while as he digested some new information. But once he began reading a certain tidbit of information, his eyes went wide with disbelief. When Desiree was born she had a hole in one of the chambers in the left ventricle of her heart resulting in her acquiring the obstructive form of a heart condition called Left Ventricular Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. With the knowledge he was gaining from his med school classes he knew that in simplest terms, his daughter had an enlarged heart. That was probably caused by an inflammation in the wall between the two ventricles called the septum inflames obstructing the flow of blood. But that wasn't what was bothering Sly. Some notes that had been written by a doctor were. Desiree was doing quite well for someone her age with the same condition but her time was running out by the work written on the paper she had to have a heart transplant within the next three years or else… Sly's heart felt his heart grow heavy with worry and sadness at the thought of losing his daughter.

Even with the steady job he had now he would never be able to pay for a surgery like that… unless he preformed the surgery himself. He had been in med school for almost three years now. He hadn't specialized in anything yet. If he specialized in cardiovascular surgery then he could do his residency as a heart surgeon. Then he if he preformed the surgery himself then it wouldn't cost as much to have it done. Yes, that is what he would do but would he have the time to complete his task before she…No, he wouldn't think that way, not yet. There had to be something he could do. He looked about the room trying to find a source of inspiration. As he glanced around the small room he saw his schoolwork scattered about the room in small piles on top of books and things. He saw some of the research that he had acquired for his current job. He did research and filing work at Interpol Filing department and was rarely seen by the employees, which was just fine with him. Then as his glance swept over the front door a small glint caught his eye. He walked over to the small umbrella holder by his door. There nestled among some umbrellas was his cane. He picked it up gingerly. Then expertly twirled it in his fingers and began to stare at it…maybe…No, he would jeopardize his daughter's life by stealing from some short-tempered thief. He couldn't let that happen. He sighed as he placed the cane back among the umbrellas and headed back to his computer desk and began to gather his papers up and place them in a blue backpack. Then he spotted a blank piece of computer paper lying on the desk. Maybe…it was time for this thief to retire…

**At Interpol the next morning…**

Carmelita Fox was in her office bright and early this and every morning. She walked into her office to see a stack of mail and case files side by side. She sighed heavily and sat down her duffle bag. She walked over to her window that overlooked the busy Paris streets and stared at the sun rising behind the Eiffel Tower. It was quite a breath-taking site. It made her want to be outside with the rest of Paris walking around enjoying the sights and sounds of their wonderful city without a real care. She then turned back to look at her desk and remembered why she was there. She had to catch Sly Cooper and any other criminal that was breaking the law. Because it wasn't like he was just going to quit being a thief. Carmelita laughed at that thought. She wished. She walked over to the mahogany desk and sat down. She then started sorting through her mail but then stopped when she spotted an envelope with Cooper's trademark on it. She picked it up slowly and turned it over then proceeded to open it. On a plain sheet of white paper there was a small note,

_My dearest Carmelita,_

_I have been the luckiest man on earth to work with such a lovely lady such as yourself not once but on many occasions. You are good at what you do just like I am good at what I do. I have loved working with you. I hope the rest of your life and career goes well. You are strong, courageous, and determined so I know you will be fine although I won't be there to look after you anymore. Life comes at you so fast, you are never quite ready for it and life has hit me pretty hard. So hard in fact, though it pains me to say it, I must retire. Things have happened that I can't explain right now. But I wrote this small note to say goodbye, my fiery love. For I fear our paths may never cross again. But I hope that my fears are wrong._

Sly Cooper 

_PS Do tell Carmen and Carlos I said hi. I love you! Now that I'm out of the picture why don't you take the day off, Lieutenant? _

Carmelita sat back in her seat, stunned. Sly Cooper… retired? This can't be true! She must be dreaming...that's it she was dreaming! She pinched herself but gave yelp when she felt it. Then she gave a sad smile. So, the world-renowned Master Thief has retired. "Wonder what could have made him retire? It had to be something important or awful to make him retire. Perhaps he got hurt or maybe…" Her heart began to race as her mind began to weave together grisly picture after grisly picture. Wait, why did she even care? Lord, maybe she _should _take that day off…

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SO! How did I do? Please review!!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi! It's WolfKeeper again! Sorry for the wait but my Internet's been down and my stupid computer keeps deleting my work!!! But here it is. I am so touched that you guys are greatly concerned for Desiree's health but we'll have to see how that goes. The deal on Desiree's mother will be discussed in a later chapter. Well here's the next chapter…

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, and Sister Ann belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 3**

**Two years and three months later…**

Carmelita Fox stretched and yawned as she woke up on this particular day in Paris. It was a bit of a strange day for the vixen. This was the start of her first weekend off in a few years. Now that her arrest rating was back to 100 again after Cooper retired, she could afford to take some off. She slowly got up and started to make up her Victorian bed. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to spend her work free weekend yet. She mused over some ideas in the shower then hopped out and got dressed. She called her boyfriend Justin Whittaker and told him to meet her at one of her favorite spots in Europe…

Meanwhile at a hotel in Disneyland Paris a young raccoon was about to get a rude awakening. The young raccoon was lying face down on the bed and snoring lightly. But a small shadowy creature was about to change all that. The small figure jumped and landed lightly on the edge of the bed. Its tail swished lazily back and forth as it watched its prey. Then it struck.

"Daddy! Wake up!!! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!!" Desiree squealed as she jumped up and down on Sly's back. Hating to be ignored Desiree reached down and pulled on Sly's medium length hair. Sly moaned and rolled over putting Desiree on her bottom on the floor. Sly instantly started. He looked down on ground at Desiree and she smiled back. Sly rolled over and looked at the alarm clock that read 7: 30 am. He looked back at Desiree. She was standing there in her Tinker Bell nightgown staring at him as if to say, "Well, what are you waiting for? A sign from God?"

"All right! You win I'm up." moaned Sly. He sat up and stretched. Then got up and dressed. He then helped his daughter, as much as she would allow, to dress. Then he grabbed the blue backpack that carried all the things they needed for the park in it and headed down for breakfast. As Sly looked through the backpack while making sure that all of their things were there he spotted the operating tools' pouch. He had forgotten to take it back to the hospital. But he just left it in there and hopped that no one would notice. By the time he had hidden the pouch in a secret compartment hidden in the backpack Desiree was ready to go.

Sly had grown used to Desiree's never ceasing energy and could keep up with her very well for a single male parent. But he wasn't prepared for her excitement. She was excited just to even be here. The night before he could barely get her to bed. When he finally did talk her into to lying down she wouldn't stop talking till almost five hours later. Then he was restless. He was naturally nocturnal which made working third shift at the hospital a breeze. But that didn't stop him for moving around during the day. He could function just fine if he got enough sleep. But it was hard for him to get to sleep after the sun went down because of his nocturnal nature. Desiree could function well day or night because she was both nocturnal and diurnal. But Sly finally got to sleep around two and Desiree was awake again by 7:30. So Sly wasn't really up to chase a, as of that day, 7-year-old hybrid by the name of Desiree. But she was wired. She dragged poor Sly on ride after ride after ride. Sly was truly enjoying himself and was glad that Desiree was enjoying herself but was in desperate need of some down time. So, he finally managed to strike a deal with the energetic vixen. They would stop for lunch and then watch the stunt show afterwards. They settled down to a lunch of pizza, soda, and ice cream. Afterwards, Desiree dragged her partly lethargic father across the park to the arena where the show was being held. They stood in line for a little while. The line was fairly long but moving at pretty quick rate. They had been standing in line for about five minutes when Desiree began to get antsy. Then she finally pulled on Sly's hand to get his attention. He looked down at his daughter and she motioned for him to come closer. He leaned down and she whispered in his ear. He went wide-eyed and looked at her incredulously.

"Are you sure? Can it wait?" he asked. The poor girl could only shake her head. Sly let out a sigh and proceeded to look for a restroom but couldn't locate one. Finally he turned to a male raccoon that was behind him and asked, "Excuse me, but do you happen to know where a restroom is?" The man smiled and said,

"Of course let me show you." He turned to a young female raccoon behind him and proceeded to speak with her. He then turned back to Sly and introduced himself,

"My Joseph Pierre and this is my wife Martha." Sly instantly noticed that the young woman was pregnant. He smiled and introduced himself and Desiree. As they started walking out of the line Martha dropped her camera. Sly went to reach for it but a red hand got to it first. He looked up right into the face of Carmelita Fox. Sly was fighting tooth and nail not to bolt from Carmelita like his thief senses were screaming at him to do. The two stared for a moment before Carmelita picked up the camera and handed it back to Martha. Then said,

"Well, since I'm out of line now, I might as well find a ladies' room. Do you happen to know where one is?"

"Of course! I'm Martha Pierre and this is my husband Joseph. We were just showing this lovely gentleman and his daughter to the restroom. Why don't you join us Ms…?"

"Fox. Carmelita Fox. Thank you for being so kind." finished Carmelita. Martha walked up and joined her husband as Carmelita started to follow the couple. Desiree finally peeked out from behind Sly's tail. Her eyes were big and shiny as she stared at Carmelita. Carmelita was like her idol. She loved hearing Sly tell stories about his adventures with Carmelita and the gang. She wanted to be just as tall and beautiful as Carmelita when she grew up; at least that's what she said. But Desiree didn't want to be a cop like Carmelita but a thief like he used to be. That made Sly proud, sure, but he had to wait until she was older to teach her the ways of the Cooper Clan. But Desiree had seemed to be born with the thieving fundamentals. She could get whatever she wanted whenever she wanted and Sly would rarely notice until after she did it. Then she would constantly filch his wallet… straight from his back pocket! He had to put a lock on the cookie jar whenever he made cookies because she would constantly sneak cookies before dinner. He tried just putting them on a high shelf but she would find a way to get to them without getting caught. But the lock didn't work for long because just the other week Sly walked into the kitchen to find the cookie jar open and empty. The lock was lying open beside it. He later found the cookies in a bucket under her bed. He later just started locking them in the safe in his bedroom.

"Well, don't you have to go?" he asked with a smile. She nodded mutely. Sly nudged her forward with his hand and she began to walk forward with her head bowed. They quickly caught up with the others. Desiree was sandwiched between Carmelita and Sly. As they maneuvered their way through the hordes of people, Carmelita looked down and noticed Desiree.

"Well now, who is this cute little girl?" she asked. Sly noticed Desiree blushing beneath her fur. Sly couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"This is my daughter Desiree, you're her idol. So, she's a bit shy at the moment. But once she gets to know you little she'll never stop talking." Said Sly. Desiree's tail went rigid and she moaned,

"Dad…" Carmelita smiled at the little vixen and said,

"Oh, hello Desiree. There is no need to be bashful. So how old are you?" Desiree smiled up at Carmelita and chirped a little hello.

"I'm seven and today's my birthday." She answered politely. Sly could tell by the smile Carmelita gave his daughter that Desiree and had cast her spell on yet another innocent soul. They finally reached the bathroom and Carmelita, Martha, and Desiree all went to the restroom. Joseph waited outside for the ladies while Sly went to find Carmelita's boyfriend and tell him Carmelita's current whereabouts as the lady fox had asked. As he walked he thought. "So someone finally swept old "Ironsides" off her feet." Sly stopped at his use of "Ironsides" and his blood began to boil as he thought about who used that phrase first. Neyla had betrayed all of them and tried to kill them by merging with Sly's old enemy Clockwerk. But Sly took out the bird with the guns on Carmelita's Helicopter. What made him think of it, he didn't know but he knew he wasn't insulting Carmelita like Neyla used to. Plus he would never call her something like that out loud because he was a gentleman and second he would like to live. He finally spotted Constable Justin Whittaker over by one of the concession stands. He walked over to him and began to chat with him as he told the Constable where his girlfriend was.

**Meanwhile in the restroom…**

Carmelita had just finished in the restroom and was straightening up her appearance. Martha was helping Desiree to dry her hands. Then as she was straightening the burgundy scarf around her neck Carmelita noticed that Desiree was staring at her scarf. Carmelita always did have a soft spot for kids. She turned around and looked at Desiree asking,

"Would you like to have this?" Desiree went wide-eyed and squealed,

"May I?"

"Of course!" Carmelita leaned down and tied the scarf around the little vixen's neck. Desiree gave her a crushing hug and said thank you. Then they exited the restroom and proceeded to locate Joseph. Then they began weaving their way through the thick crowd as they looked for Sly.

**With Sly…**

"Oh, here they come." Said Sly as he spotted the group making their way to them. Justin spotted Desiree among the group and he asked,

"The kid yours?"

"Yes, that's my daughter," replied Sly.

"Kids…lookin' all cute and innocent…feh! If you asked me, innocence is just a fancy way of sayin' ignorance!" said Justin with venom. He was too busy putting his nose up in the air to notice the death glare that Sly was giving him. Sly let it go. He had dealt with enough people like him to be used to it. Desiree ran up to Sly and started to chatter excitedly about the scarf that Carmelita had given her. When they rejoined the line once again it was longer than the last time they were there. The people that they had been standing near had long since been inside. But the line was still moving pretty quickly. Joseph and Martha said their goodbyes as they left because Martha had grown tired. Carmelita and Justin were in front of Sly and Desiree now. Carmelita turned to Sly and asked,

"So do you have a name, Daddy?" Sly was taken aback for a moment but then remembered that she probably didn't recognize him because of the hair and the extra height he had gained. He didn't want to lie to her so he gave the first he could think of that wasn't a lie,

"Destini." Carmelita smiled. Sly sighed with relief. Desiree was looking skyward and said,

"Daddy look! It's a plane!" Sly looked up and noticed the jet. "It's flying a little low." He thought. Then his thief senses went berserk. He instinctively picked up his daughter. Carmelita had turned back around to find her boyfriend missing.

"Where's--" She didn't even get to ask her question because right then there was a huge…

BOOOOOOOMMMM! Sly felt his feet leave the ground as the explosion knocked him and his daughter backwards. Sly felt himself flying then falling and a sharp pain then nothing. Desiree was freaking out. Her father wasn't moving and to her it looked like it was raining fire. There were people screaming and running. She heard crying. She grunted as a fleeing tourist kicked her off of her dad's chest and onto the ground. Then more people started kicking her away from her unconscious father as they fled. Then she couldn't see her father anymore. All she saw were feet and pavement. Her heart was beating like a frightened rabbit. She started to cry as she was kicked at and stepped on again and again. Finally on the point of hysterics with tears streaming she wailed,

"Daddy!!!"

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Please review and I'll write more! Bye!!


	4. Chapter 4

Hi, I was thrilled by the quick response I got about the last chapter. I know many of you aren't thrilled with me. So, here's the next chapter to make up for the cliffy last chapter!!!!

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, and Sister Ann belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**WARNING: This chapter will be graphic in the first half; I would advise that if you have a weak stomach take caution when reading. **

_Just another quick note: What's happening to Sly and Carmelita are happening simultaneously._

**Chapter 4**

Carmelita Fox woke up to screaming and a swift kick in the face. She remembered the explosion and Justin's disappearance but she didn't remember anything else. She swore and got to her feet as quickly possible without getting knocked down again by the fleeing tourists. Her police instincts started working in overdrive she shoved her way through the crowd heading in the opposite direction. She was trying to find the cause of all the chaos and put an end to it. Her blood was laced heavily with adrenaline so she was barely aware of her condition. She could make out a smell of smoke and see the tips of the flames. She could tell she was closing in on the arena because the living was becoming scarce. The bodies were everywhere. Some were in piles, some of scattered around on the ground, and others were missing parts. Carmelita's heart wrenched for these poor innocent victims, either they were burned, ripped apart by the blast, or trampled in the chaotic aftermath. Carmelita wrinkled her nose at the smell of the already decaying bodies. She started tripping on the bodies as she tried to maintain her balance while she maneuvered through the frenzied crowd. Then she heard it, a weak wail. Her maternal instinct quickly overtook her police instinct. She started bullying people out of her way as she made her way towards the wailing. Then she saw her, the little vixen she had met earlier. The poor little thing was wailing, scared, alone, and being trampled. Carmelita quickly moved in and swiped the poor child off the ground and into her arms. She was becoming overwhelmed by people and was nearly knocked down. But she stood her ground because if she fell, the little girl and she would surely die. Carmelita pushed her way out of the crowd and into the alley between two other attractions and collapsed there suddenly exhausted.

**With Sly…**

Sly woke up at Desiree's call. He instantly received two or three kicks in the face. He began to think quickly. He instantly focused on being invisible. He then began moving through the crowd. He was desperately looking for his small daughter. He had always teased her about being small by calling her his "baby" girl and "little" princess. But now he realized just how small his baby girl really was. Then seeing the wounded, dying, or dead mothers, fathers and children scattered about his heart and stomach began to writhe painfully. He was a surgeon and he had seen some pretty bad stuff but this was just plain… there was no word to describe it. There were clumps of fur and dismembered body parts everywhere. The flesh and blood was clinging to everything and littered the ground. The smell of burning flesh and fur made Sly's stomach writhe even more. He felt tears come to his eyes as looked at all bodies around him near the arena, most of the living crowd had gone in other direction away from the arena. Children's bodies had been blown apart or wide open. Then many of the bodies that were trampled looked like road kill that had been run over too many times. Some even looked like they had literally had their brains stomped out. He stopped looking at all the mangled and bleeding bodies and stared at the arena. The flames were burning high and bright, the explosion had turned this once happy place into a makeshift crematorium. He hated to be the owner of the local morgue after word gets out about this. Then he noticed a disturbance among part of the fleeing crowd. Then Carmelita burst from the crowd with Desiree in her arms! Sly's heart leapt, his daughter was alive! He became visible once more and started running over to where Carmelita had disappeared between two attractions.

**Back with Desiree and Carmelita…**

Desiree wasn't hurt badly she had a few bumps, scraps, and bruises but she would live. She was sitting next to the incapacitated Carmelita looking over herself. But, she was worried about her daddy. She hadn't seen him since the explosion first happened. She knew that he would probably be worried about her. She began to finger the little gold necklace that Sly had given her as an early birthday present. It was a gold chain with a small angel pendant holding a key; the key was longer than the angel so that it extended past the angel's feet. There was a small zirconium diamond in the handle of the key. As she fingered the small gem she remembered what her father told her,

"If you are ever in trouble and I'm not around just press on the diamond and help will come, okay?" She eyed the diamond carefully then pressed the gem, it was a button. Now, all Desiree could do was wait. She turned to look at the unconscious Carmelita after she heard the older vixen groan. Carmelita had fallen asleep after saving her from the mob. Desiree assumed that she was sleeping because Carmelita was still breathing. She could tell she was breathing because she could see her chest rising and falling. Desiree crawled back to Carmelita and snuggled into the vixen's chest once again. Carmelita's arms closed around the little vixen automatically. Desiree like sitting in Carmelita's arms they were warm and she smelled like cinnamon

Carmelita was reliving one of her most horrid memories. She was running, running away from what she couldn't remember but it was something bad. She was clad in only a hospital gown and a coat she had taken from a coat rack wherever she was running from. She had on no shoes just those two things. She was holding something small to her chest as she ran. Her lungs burned from the frigid air coming through her throat. Her chest was tight and hurting. Her heart thudded painfully in her rib cage. The roar of an engine caused the vixen to run even faster. The night sky was a murky gray from the snow clouds. The snow fell thickly and obscured her vision. She careened through the back streets of Paris just barely out running the cars that were pursuing her. She had turned onto to another street when she became trapped in an alley. She held that bundle closer to her chest. She began to look around trying to find anyway out but she was trapped for real unless… she could reach that ladder. The ladder was part of a fire escape for the building she was behind. She ran to the ladder and began to ascend it with one hand holding the bundle. She made it to the fire escape. She blazed up the frozen steps as fast as her frozen feet would allow. When she reached the top she heard the car stop and people start to get out. She didn't stick around to let them catch up instead she took off running again. The bundle against her chest began to move slightly.

"Shhhh…be still little one, it will be all right." She whispered as she continued moving. She had to jump a few short distances between the buildings to keep moving. Finally she reached a jump she couldn't make with the infant in her arms. She used the fire escape on the building's side to get back on the ground and continued running. The infant started to move again. Carmelita was getting desperate and tired when she was coming upon some steps that led to a main street. She started up them but a few steps up the baby moved again getting her attention, as she looked at the child in her arms she tripped. She fell forward and as she did she turned on her side to keep the baby from hitting the stairs. She hit her head and blacked out. When Carmelita came to _she_was standing over her. Those same cold green eyes stared down at her.

"Well I hope you're proud of yourself!!! We weren't going to make you keep the baby or even remember having it but you had to be the crazy overprotective mother, didn't you? Well I am going to make you remember all that plus this as punishment!" sneered the woman.

"What are you talking about? Where is my daughter?" asked Carmelita. Fear began to grip the vixen, the fear that something had happened to her daughter. The woman laughed coldly. Before growling,

"She's dead, Carmelita." Carmelita reeled. It couldn't be true her daughter was… dead? She couldn't be she was barely just born! The tears began to build in her chest as she digested the truth. "Rattle that poor little brain too much. Sad really…just like shaking up a glass jar with a raw egg in it, the glass won't give but the egg's shell will. You killed her… if you had left the baby with us then she would be alive!"

"No! That's not true! I-" Carmelita tried to protest but was cut short.

"Yes, you did!! You took her from the hospital where she would have been safe and dropped her when you fell! Don't believe me? This might convince you." Sneered the woman. She then showed Carmelita a black duffle bag. Carmelita gave her a confused stare. "They don't make body bags that small, Carmie. Sometimes you have to improvise." Carmelita eyes went wide and the poor vixen began to tremble. "Would you like to hold it?" Carmelita was trembling uncontrollably now and sobbing. "I think she wants to it hold guys." Two burly German sheppards grabbed Carmelita and held her as the mysterious woman opened the duffel bag. One of the dogs grabbed Carmelita by the wrist and guided her hand into the duffel bag. Carmelita felt fur, small paws, small ears, and then something slimy and sticky. She jerked her hand out and screamed when she saw that her hand was covered in blood. Then she fainted. She could hear a faint voice calling her name.

**With Sly…**

Sly had ran into the alley to find Desiree nestled in Carmelita's arms. He moved in slowly and tried to gently remove his daughter from Carmelita's arms but Carmelita just held on tighter. Sly grinned. Carmelita looked very content with Desiree in her arms and was intending on keeping her there. "Carmelita would be a decent mother… I mean she always did have a soft spot for kids and mine it seems. Would be nice if she was Desiree's mother." Wait! What was he thinking!! Carmelita would never give him the time of day to chat, let alone to have children with him. Although that wasn't a bad thought. He then reached down and shook Desiree awake. She instantly looked at him and then jumped into his arms. He hugged and kissed his daughter before putting her down. He then reached down and started to shake Carmelita awake. He called,

"Carmelita? Carmelita. Carmelita!" The vixen started and Sly jumped backwards by reflex. She moaned and she shook her head to clear it. She stared at Sly for moment and then asked,

"Do you mind giving a lady a hand up?"

"Of course not, oh fair one." Sly said with a grin as he extended his hand towards Carmelita and helped her up. She thanked him and he thanked her for saving his daughter. Carmelita then left to alert Interpol of the mess at the park. Then as soon as Carmelita left Beatrice came flying into the park. She landed near Sly and Desiree and gasped at the sight before her.

"My God!! What happened? I got the distress signal and came over as fast as I could." Said Beatrice hurriedly. Desiree hugged Beatrice as soon as she saw her. Beatrice returned the hug as Sly explained what he knew. Beatrice was just as upset by the situation as he was. Beatrice then told Sly some interesting news about his mail. He had asked Beatrice to monitor the mail for while he was away. According to Beatrice, Sly was soon to be expected in court. He was being sued for custody of Desiree by… her mother…

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Well as Sly says, "Second verse same as the first." Bye!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, I really don't have anything to really say. I am glad you guys are enjoying the story and that the next chapter is coming up… right…NOW! Oh, yeah! Any character that I give a name to, they and whatever I say about them, is important to the story, so pay attention! **

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, and Sister Ann belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 5**

Sly looked as if he had been slapped. Desiree was going to be taken from him by the very person who abandoned her for seven years. Beatrice noticed the conflicting emotions on the young father's face.

"Maybe I should take Desiree home and wait for you there." said Beatrice as she picked up Desiree.

"Yeah, maybe you ought to," said Sly in an offhanded voice. Beatrice took the child and started the fly out of the park. Sly's thoughts were all jumbled up and made no sense to him. He turned and looked about at the dead and dying on the ground. He took the backpack off his back and sat it before him. He rummaged through it for a moment before removing the surgical tools he had hidden in it. He fished out some towels and a pair of gloves. "No better way to clear my head than by doing some work." He thought. Even back when he was a thief, he cleared his thoughts best when he was moving about. Whether he had been doing reconnaissance, completing a job, or pulling off the heist itself he thought better moving. He walked to the nearest living being and began to look them over. It was a rabbit. The poor thing was moaning but not moving. She was covered in gashes that stained her seemingly flawless pure white fur with that precious red elixir of life. Sly tried to figure out want kind of monster would shower such a happy place with the blood of so many innocent people. He began to wipe the young rabbit's fur off so that he could see the wound more clearly as he tried to patch it up. Although he was occupied with fixing the young woman's wounds, he couldn't help letting his thoughts wander to the thought of who the woman that wanted to take his daughter away from him was. Although unknown to Sly she was thinking of him as well…

Nautica Macavity laughed evilly as she thought of how well her reprehensible plan was functioning. This had been years in the making and she was finally reaping the bounty of her work. She was a certified OCD case. Her obsession was Sly Cooper. Her room was blue. Her bed was gray and blue. Her wall was covered in pictures of Sly Cooper. There were even newspaper clippings of Sly since the media found out he existed. She had a video collection of over a thousand videocassettes that housed hours of every media coverage of Sly's thieving career. She even had a piece of his shirt that she had snagged of a drugged Mz. Ruby. She constantly dreamed of him and marrying him. She even made a Sly doll. Her obsession with Sly made Carmelita's obsession look like an elementary school crush! Nautica was spoiled which just made things worse. She got anything and everything she wanted because daddy, being a powerful mafia boss, could afford it. But what she really wanted was for Sly to be her sex slave, her plaything. She wanted to _own_ him and him to depend on her for _everything_. She wanted him to serve her, worship her, and do whatever she asked him to. If she said jump he would ask "How high?" But now that he had grown attached to the "fabricated" daughter and would do anything to protect her, she would put the final stages of her plan in motion and sealed her fate as Mrs. Nautica Cooper. But even though she was clinically deranged, she was smart. She had a PhD in Psychology and Genetics and on top of that she had a great tactical mind. But this particular plan had a flaw, a huge flaw in it. When the child was put together genetically all the recessive traits of the mother were used and the dominant traits of the father. They also used the mother as the host body for the implantation. But what they didn't expect was the child to come out a fox. But when she did she had all of her mother recessive traits and only two of her father's. Which would make it hard to identify who the parents were by looks alone but they sealed the mother's name just in case. Plus, the child looked just like Nuatica so everyone would immediately assume that she was the mother. Plus, since nobody knew who the real mother was and the real mother was taken care of, no one in the world was any the wiser. So she would take Sly to court, take his daughter, and use her as a bribe for his servitude. The terms were simple, you serve me or the girl dies! Her dark green eyes flashed dangerously as she sat alone in her dark room plotting…

Desiree on the other hand had been lost in her own thoughts since she left that horrific scene and the Disney Park. Desiree may only be seven but she was smart, crafty, and clever just like her father. She knew partly what was going on but didn't understand why. She understood that the plane had crashed into the building didn't understand why it did. She also understood that her mother wanted to take her from daddy but again because her innocence she did not understand why. This frustrated the young vixen to no end. But as far as she was concerned, she wanted to stay with daddy because he took care of her and he was the closest thing she had to family. But finally frustrated with her thoughts she asked Beatrice,

"Mrs. Beatrice, why does mommy want to take me from daddy?" Beatrice was stunned. She always knew Desiree was smart she was Beatrice's star student. Plus Sly was a semi genius in his own right. Everyone thought that Bentley was the **only **brain of the group that was not true. There had been many a caper where Sly's true genius show and stunned even Bentley plus no one can get through medical school without a top-of-your-high-school-class decent brain and Sly, unknown to the rest of the world had one. Desiree was a chip off the old block, too. She could spell dozens and dozens of small and medium words with ease. Desiree could also read small books independently and her vocabulary was extensive! Beatrice always knew that whether or not Desiree was told anything she knew what was going on. The price of being smart was knowing that something was wrong even if no one told you. But Beatrice was still stunned that Desiree understood her home life situation so well. It broke her heart to think about how much the young vixen really knew.

"Really sweetheart, I don't know." Beatrice finally said. She saw the young vixen's eyes grow cold, which really scared Beatrice.

"Why does she want me now?! She didn't want me seven years ago or else she wouldn't have left me at the orphanage!" Desiree screamed with tears welling in her eyes and ran to her room. Beatrice was speechless. She had never seen Desiree this upset before. Beatrice could tell that Sly might have to take care of this little tantrum. Beatrice pulled out a cell phone and dialed a very familiar number…

Carmelita Montoya Fox was on the phone with Interpol being scheduled for a press conference an hour from now. She was pleading that she needed to lead the charge for finding out who blew a hole in one of her favorite hangout spots. But the Chief was putting her in charge of the investigation and as the head she would have to give off the minimal amount of evidence they would find at the scene and recap how many countless lives were lost at that cataclysmic event. Then she would have to take the heat from the mayor and the chief of Interpol Headquarters for allowing it to happen and doing a so-called "half arse" job of investigating it. She wasn't chosen to lead this investigation because she completely dedicated to the force, the most qualified to do it, the best cop on the force save for her sister, but no she was given the job because she was the Chief's favorite scapegoat. The indignation burned her up from the inside out but she loved this job and she knew that save for a few she was the only honest cop left. So she had to take the job to make sure that justice was served! But she had reached the park once more with her team of the most trusted, loyal, and honest cops she knew…

Sly answered his phone on the first ring. It was Beatrice. She was distressed about Desiree after his daughter threw a fit about her mother. Sly couldn't blame Desiree for throwing a tantrum; he wanted to throw a fit too. But he had to be the adult in the house so he couldn't throw one just yet. He promised that he would talk with Desiree as soon as he got home. But he had to finish cleaning up a young antelope male that wasn't badly hurt but cut up pretty good. He then heard a soft moaning sound from immediately behind him. He had already helped about thirty people before the ambulances started arriving. But with their supplies he continued helping out. He turned and saw a bird. She was a pretty thing with a red, green, and gold plumage. But most of her feathers had been burned off or blown off and her flesh was exposed and blistering in many huge patches. Sly went over to her and called,

"Ma'am, can you hear me? I'm a doctor, can you hear me?" She moaned in response…

Amarrani Vencinette was a single mother with a low paying job and struggling to make ends meet. She had just saved up enough money to take her daughter to Disneyland over the course of about five years. Her father was once an account for a once wealthy doctor who used to own a prestigious medical research center in France until it was closed down. Then her father became unemployed and left her caring for him and her young daughter after her husband walked out. Then her father later died in a suspicious fire. Her mother had died when she was young and all that was left of the family now was herself, her daughter, and her older sister. Her sister was the second wife to a wealthy man who was suspected of doing shady dealings but no one could ever prove it. Her daughter was nowhere to be found. She tried to look around for her but when she moved even the slightest, pain ripped through her body. She moaned. The young raccoon that was trying to help her was saying something to her but she couldn't make out what he was saying. But she knew he couldn't get involved with her because **he **would have that young raccoon killed. She was a walking jinx to anyone's life. She, despite the pain, swiped his helping hands away. He looked stunned for a moment but was undaunted and continued rubbing her blistered skin with a wet towel. She could deny that once you get over the stinging it felt good on her scorched skin. But she could not allow another innocent person to be caught up in the mess that was her life, it was just too dangerous.

"NO! You must stop! Get away from me before **they** find you with me! They'll pull you in too! Once you're in, you're in and the only way out is death." She screeched as she fought against him despite her pain. He finally retracted his hands and sighed,

"Well is there anything I can do for you, I want to help in some way. And who is this **they **you keep screaming about?"

"No one you need to know about. But if you would, could you find my daughter? Her name is Aurora."

"I'll make you a deal. I will find your daughter for you and you will go to the hospital with the paramedics." He bargained. Amarrani struggled with her inner demons for a moment before finally saying,

"Ok, we have a deal."

Sly watched as the bird fell unconscious, worn out from her fit. Sly was quite confused by the young woman's behavior, he would have just dismissed her as crazy but it was the look of pure fear in her eyes made him believe that this **they** she spoke of was something to fear. He stood back out of the way of the paramedics that were loading the woman onto a stretcher. The park was now deserted save for news crews, Interpol, the paramedics and EMTs loading the wounded, the firemen putting out the flames, and the morgue vans that were loading up the bodies. Sly's heart wretched at the sight of a small child being loading into a body bag and its mother wailing in despair nearby while being held by two Interpol officers. To distract himself from it he went start look for Aurora Vencinette. But he had barely made it about twenty steps before something fell out of the sky and right into Sly's arms. He looked down at the form of, which he guessed to be, Aurora Vencinette. The little bird looked just like her mother with a green, gold, and red plumage. Some of her feathers were blackened and there were some patches of exposed and burned flesh. But it wasn't as bad as her mother's. He guessed that she had taken to the skies wounded by instinct to evade the danger but couldn't make it out of the flames fast enough and finally too exhausted to fly anymore fell from the sky. Sly took the young chick to a waiting ambulance where she was loaded up and taken to the hospital. Sly's thief senses began to go off again, he looked around but the park was mostly deserted. Everyone was too busy caring for the wounded and dying to notice the shadowy form in between two nearby attractions.

Justin Whittaker watched the rescue crews struggle to clean up the left over carnage. He overheard a group of firemen talking about going inside the stadium to clean up. But that caused Whittaker to chuckle. There wasn't a thing to clean up in that stadium but torched and twisted metal. They would have to replace the chairs and what not but as for bodies there wasn't anything left to clean up save for the carbon flashings. But he was really very worried because Amarrani Vencinette was injured in the explosion. This was bad news for the Macavity Mafia because Amarrani Vencinette was the sister of Margalo Vencinette Macavity, the current wife of Joseph Macavity, his mafia boss. She was not going to be happy that her sister was harmed. So he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. The weasel practically paled when Joseph Macavity answered on the first ring. He tried to stay calm but when he spoke his voice still shook

"Boss, Amarrani was hurt in that attack on the park."

"What?! You said she was going the week after! I ought to have you gutted and scalped for this Whittaker! You better hope that Amarrani Vencinette doesn't die or you help you God!! I'll--"

"Sir, Aurora was also injured." squeaked Whittaker. He heard a low growl emit from his boss's throat. He knew he had to think of something quick or he was going to wake up dead tomorrow. "Ummm…sir, Sly Cooper interacted with Amarrani that equals an immediate initiation, right?"

"Sly Cooper… you mean the Sly Cooper? The master thief? He was there?" asked Joseph Macavity in disbelief.

"Oh yeah, it was him without a doubt. He had a kid with him, called her his daughter." said Justin feeling a little calmer now.

"Really now? This is a fortunate turn of events, Whittaker you may yet live… if you can bring me Sly Cooper in two weeks; you got that, two weeks! That also means with insurance that he will not cross me. Any ideas?"

"He always had a thing for Ms. Fox, I am just playing bodyguard to her for you! I could get her." Suggested Justin.

"No, you idiot! She is the backup insurance for someone else we can't use her or our deal is void!!" shouted Macavity so loudly that Justin had to hold the phone away from his ear.

"Then why not use his daughter…" stated Justin.

"Fine! I want Cooper in two weeks got it! Use Interpol to get it done!" ordered Joseph Macavity before hanging up. Sly Cooper did not realize that he was stepping right into the middle of an internal Mafia and an Underworld Mafia war all at the same time. See, Nautica and Joseph Macavity were father and daughter and like many Mafia families did not trust each other one bit. So they were constantly plotting against each other and constantly trying to sabotage each other's plans. Now it was happening again but this time it would cause the fall of the Macavity Mafia and the start the rise of the Vencinette Vigilantes.

**In a mansion in Paris…**

Margalo Vencinette Macavity had just received word from one of her informants that her sister had been in the attack on the Disney Park. She and her niece were now both in the hospital. This meant that Macavity had broken his word and she was now free to retaliate. Originally, she had been the oldest daughter of the leader of Vencinette Vigilantes, a rival gang that would do what the infamous Cooper Gang used to do. They would infiltrate gangs and other Underworld organizations and destroy them from the inside by leaking information to Interpol. They had Macavity on his last legs too once but when he got Interpol under his wing; their members were being thrown in jail or being killed. Her father used to work for Macavity until he had his Medical labs shut down. In exchange for saving the remaining Vigilantes from jail he would give Macavity Margalo to marry. Then a small truce was forged between the two gangs. If Macavity didn't harm her, her sister, or any of their descendants the Vigilante would not retaliate. But if he did the Vigilantes vowed to bring him down by any means necessary. Now Margalo had the chance to free her people, the countless people Macavity had cohered into working for him, and herself from the power hungry man's grip. But she would need a weapon to use against both him and his psychotic daughter but what? She knew that Sly Cooper had been spotted, may be he could help her…

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**Author's note: I think that's enough. This is the calm before the storm people. Sly and Desiree are about to be in for an emotional roller coaster ride of a lifetime… But here's a snippet of ch. 6, it may be from the beginning middle or end of the chapter:**

Desiree was quivering as she watched the doctors and nurses work on her father. She didn't know what had happened but Beatrice had came and brought Desiree and Aurora to the hospital. She had snuck back into the room after a nurse had booted her out and was now hiding in a corner of the room. She could see everything that was going on but they couldn't see her. From the tone of their voices she could tell things weren't looking good for her father. Then the machines hooked to her father started screaming. The doctors began scurrying about like ants. Her father began to shake and convulse hard. The heart monitor was beeping like mad. Blood splatter allover the inside of the oxygen mask on her father's face as more blood started rising up the incubation tube. He began shaking harder then stopped. Then the heart monitor's beeping started to slow down and Desiree's heartbeat and breathing started speeding up as she realized what was happening. She remembered asking about the heart monitor before and his reply was,

"The little beeps represents heartbeats but if it just one long beep sounds then there is no heartbeat." Then she heard it. That dreaded sound she looked up and there wasn't anything on the monitor but a line…

Review and I just might write some more… 


	6. Chapter 6

HI! So glad you guys are enjoying my story! Anywho. 2 of my readers already know who the mother is! There are clues all throughout this story! Sorry about the short chapter but I needed to update it will be more exciting next chapter, promiseAnyway here's the next chapter…

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, and Sister Ann belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Captain Amelia.

**Chapter 6**

**3 days later… **

Sly stared blankly at the computer screen before him. He flexed his fingers hovering over the keys. He sighed and put his hands in lap again. He picked them up again and dropped them again. "I know I'm gonna need help to bust this case but… I don't need to go back to pulling these kinds of jobs, I have to take care of Desiree but…" Sly continued to wage a mental war in his mind but couldn't make up his mind. He wanted to contact Bentley and get his friend to help him bust this case but he didn't want to get in involved for the sake of his daughter's safety. He let out a sigh and then finally typed something in. Instantly someone wrote back.

sly1: Hey

spexguy: Sly that u?

sly1: yep.

spexguy:

sly1: ummm… I take it u r surprised to hear from me?

spexguy: hehehheh… yeah… so…

sly1: so…

spexguy: How's the weather?

sly1: Sunny ;)

spexguy: XX you know what I meant…

sly1: lol. Yeah but I just love jerkin' ur chain but everything's fine… how bout you?

spexguy: Bored.

sly1: you? I haven't pulled a job in almost two and half years! I've been itchin' to do somethin' but I can't

spexguy: y not?

sly1: uhhh…

spexguy: OH MY GOSH… R U IN JAIL??!!

Sly laughed as he practically imagined his old friend about to have a nervous break down at his computer. He decided to spare his friend and typed:

sly1: no

spexguy: O-o Oh…. But why can't you just go for practice run you know just for old times sake, ya know stretch your legs…

sly1: I can't

spexguy: why can't you?

sly1: Because I have a "little" job to handle that's all…

spexguy: And that would be…

sly1: uhhh… :&

spexguy: just spill it…

sly1: did you hear about the attack on the EuroDisney park?

spexguy: yeah… what of it?

sly1: I was in it

spexguy: you can never stay out of trouble can you?

sly1: I try…

spexguy: But the plane crashed, right?

sly1: It would seem so…

spexguy: What do u mean "it would seem so"?

sly1: Maybe I'm just bein' paranoid…

spexguy: U? Paraniod? No… not the King of "Would you stop being so paranoid, Bentley?" complaints! The world must be coming to an end!

sly1: Look things… I have changed Bentley… plus if any little thing went wrong you went nuts. I just had freakin' building blow up in my face because an airplane falls from the sky! Wouldn't you be paranoid?

spexguy: I would be six feet under…

sly1: lol.

spexguy: I'm serious, Sly.

sly1::died laughing::

spexguy: U R hopeless

sly1: lol

spexguy: You know you can really die laughing.

sly1: yes Bentley I know…

spexguy: lol

Sly laughed and laughed it was good to talk to his old friend again but Sly knew he had to Bentley at some point about Desiree but if he did that she end up falling right into the middle of trouble. He couldn't bare it if something happened to Desiree, it would kill him for sure but…

"Daddy? Why are you laughing at the computer?" asked Desiree as she stared at the screen.

"Oh, something a friend of mine wrote was funny." He answered her.

"Oh, well, tell them I said hi too, ok?" she asked.

"Sure, but aren't you supposed to be taking a bath young lady?" he questioned his daughter.

"Yes, sir." She said as she turned around and skipped back to the bathroom. He chuckled. He turned around back to the screen and typed:

sly1: my friend says hi

spexguy: does this friend happen to be a lady friend?

sly1: yes

spexguy: Is she a different lady every night?

sly1: Bentley! You know me better than that!

spexguy: Lol. I am sorry. Just wanted to rattle your cage a little.

sly1: Plus she's only seven…

spexguy: WHAT?!!!

sly1: Now who's rattled?

spexguy: that's not funny….

sly1: Plus she's my daughter…

spexguy: WHAT?!!!

sly1: Huh?

spexguy: U have a daughter?

sly1: Isn't that what I just said?

spexguy: Sly!

sly1: What?

spexguy: U… R… hopeless!!

sly1: I know… I know… that's why I keep a "little" lady around the house to keep me doing right…

spexguy: Really? You really have a daughter?

sly1: yes, I do… Desiree just turned seven three days ago.

spex guy: So that's y u were at the park?

sly1: for her birthday

spexguy: well that must've sucked

sly1: yeah but could you watch your language she can read on a 5th grade level and likes to read over my shoulder…

spexguy: Oh… srry

sly1: no big, I just don't want to have to explain to her what that word actually means…

spexguy: ugghh… I'd hate to be in ur shoes.

sly1: Honestly she's a good, smart kid once you get used to her excessive energy maybe I should send her to stay with Uncle Bentley for a while…

spexguy: uh uh! No way! I am no good with kids you know that!!

Sly1: lol. jk, Bent.

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Sly talked with Bentley until Desiree got out of the tub and signed off when he had to get her ready for bed. He tucked her in and handed Desiree her favorite doll. It was a small artic fox with ice green eyes and small, cherubic smile on her face. The nose was a blush pink which was an excellent compliment to her emerald green Fairy outfit that resembled the outfit worn by Tinker Bell complete with little translucent wings with silver lining around the edges and inner lines of wings. The Fox's tail had three rings around its bushy tail just like her master's courtesy of a black sharpie and Desiree's artistic abilities. Desiree clutched the little fox doll to her chest and snuggled beneath the covers. Sly then leaned down and kissed her on her nose and said,

"Good night, Tinker Bell." Tinker Bell was a constant nickname for Desiree because of her fiery temper and temperamental nature despite her small size. Plus Desiree didn't seem to mind.

"You forgot Eliza," chirped Desiree holding up the doll, which Sly pecked on the nose. After making sure his daughter was comfortable he turned out the light and left a crack in the door when he left. He went back into the living room where he began going through paperwork he had to catch up on from his previous workdays and some of the victims from the "attack" on the Disney Park, which still had Interpol baffled. He was still dressed save for his shoes just in case he got an emergency call later on and had to go back to the hospital. He could dress quickly and leave if he had to of course after calling Beatrice to come over and look after Desiree. About an hour later he began moving about the house cleaning up the various muddles about the apartment to keep the blood circulating through his body. He came back through the living room planning to straighten out the various piles of paperwork scattered on his couch when a small glint caught his eye. It was his cane that was still nestled amongst some umbrellas reflecting the dim lighting in the room. The glint of it's handle was like the song of siren to a sailor's ear and instantly drew Sly towards it, by the time Sly snapped out of his daze he had the cane in his paws. He expertly spun the cane in his agile fingers before executing some expert moves to check his abilities. He still sometimes practiced with it while Desiree was at school to quail the Master Thief impulses that sometimes arose in the young raccoon. Although he had stopped active thieving, thieving was in his blood and a part of him that could not simply be ignored. He was born a thief and was trying to live the opposite of that. But he would chew off his own hand before he would let anything harm his daughter he would even ignore his own thieving nature to protect her; even when it was killing him inside to do so. He sometimes felt like he was betraying his ancestry by abandoning it for the sake of his daughter but there was no other way to keep her safe. He sighed heavily as he put the cane back among the cold steel posts of the umbrellas…

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**In Desiree's dream…**

Desiree was quivering as she watched the doctors and nurses work on her father. She didn't know what had happened but Beatrice had came and brought Desiree and Aurora to the hospital. She had snuck back into the room after a nurse had booted her out and was now hiding in a corner of the room. She could see everything that was going on but they couldn't see her. From the tone of their voices she could tell things weren't looking good for her father. Then the machines hooked to her father started screaming. The doctors began scurrying about like ants. Her father began to shake and convulse hard. The heart monitor was beeping like mad. Blood splatter allover the inside of the oxygen mask on her father's face as more blood started rising up the incubation tube. He began shaking harder then stopped. Then the heart monitor's beeping started to slow down and Desiree's heartbeat and breathing started speeding up as she realized what was happening. She remembered asking about the heart monitor before and his reply was,

"The little beeps represents heartbeats but if it just one long beep sounds then there is no heartbeat." Then she heard it. That dreaded sound she looked up and there wasn't anything on the monitor but a line…

The young vixen shot up in her bed with tears streaming and screamed,

"DADDY!" Sly bolted into the room flipping on the light as he entered the room. Sly could instantly tell his daughter had suffered a nightmare. Her eyes were huge and moist; her small jaw trembled with fear. He instantly went to her and wrapped his arms around her shielding her from whatever horror that was pestering her. She tried to tell him what scared her so bad but could only manage unclear babble accompanied by huge fat tears that cascaded down her face in torrents. Sly had learned over the past two years to let Desiree get it all out of her system first before questioning her about the nightmare. He rocked her gently in his arms trying to calm her. As he felt her settle down, he asked,

"Now, what scared you?" She stared at him a long moment before squeaking out,

"You died." Sly did double take he wasn't expecting that. She proceeded to tell he in vivid detail what happened including what Sly was wearing, which was his doctor's uniform. This small confession sent a tingling chill down his spine. This was no nightmare, he deduced, this was a heart-stopping premonition. Not known to many people, Carmelita included, Sly was sensitive, celestially and magically sensitive. Sly was in tuned to magical items and could sense their presence but he never told. He could see some things before they happened, he could tell who was on the phone before he even picked it up, and he could tell when something bad was going to happen. Most of his premonitions, well the bad ones, he easily avoided or narrowly escaped. His daughter had this strange gift as well and it would change over time as his did. This worried Sly a lot, this meant that he was going to have to get involved with this particular case or it would cost him his life. This meant that Desiree was going to have to be involved, too, some how. He finally decided that he was going to train his daughter in the ways of the Cooper Thieves. Starting right after school tomorrow…

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That's it you know what to do… Here's snippet to sweeten the deal…

…. Joseph Macavity smiled at his acquisition, a queen emperor hornet. She was just barely two inches but for an insect that was huge, no gigantic! But a beautiful creature nonetheless and a natural born killer after his illegal genetics evolution experiment was finished, with this queen he would create a world conquering army…


	7. Chapter 7

Hey there! Sorry about the wait guys! Been real busy as of late! Oh, well, I am going to stop talking and start the story! **WARNING!! There is some graphic content in the middle of this chapter, if it affects you, skip to the next bold heading. But the first part is Sly and Carm so you're safe. **

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, and Sister Ann belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 7**

**About a week later, at Paris Medical Center during 3****rd**** shift…**

Carmelita Montoya Fox was seething with rage as she stormed through the Emergency room. She was reaching her limits with Interpol and she just found out some awful things about her boyfriend Justin's extracurricular activities. Then her Chief had her working the busiest section of Paris as well as working that EuroDisney mess and on top of that she was stuck with a complete bimbo and a wimpy one at that for a partner! Rochelle was no cop! She was just a spoiled little girl who just wanted to play dress up, and her daddy bought her a new costume. Meaning, her daddy bought her a way into Interpol. The girl didn't know the trigger of a gun from the barrel. Then the girl nearly had a heart attack when some mud got on her designer boots. Now, she was in the Emergency room getting stitches in her lip from where she and slipped on some wet concrete. Carmelita was partly mad because she would have a mound of paperwork to do for this. But the main reason she was mad was that she would have to have this kid trained in a week or else her job was screwed. Then to top it all off, Justin had been cheating on her with every other female officer at Interpol that was willing to sleep with him! "Gracias a Dios, I didn't sleep with him! The slime!" she thought. But she decided to think about something else besides him to calm her nerves. She gathered herself together as she approached the nurse's station.

"Excuse me, my partner; Rochelle Fairmount was brought in a little while ago. Could you tell me what room she is in?" asked Carmelita politely. The young zebra woman clicked away at the keys on her computer before saying,

"She's in room 303, Ms. Fox."

"Merci." Carmelita replied. She then turned and went on her way. She stopped by to see her partner, who was currently trying to reach a plastic surgeon in Paris that would accept her father's money. Carmelita not in the mood to deal with her partner's antics snatched the phone from her partner and snapped it closed. She then told her partner to meet her in the cafeteria when the doctor released her. She then, in Carmelita fashion, whirled around and stormed out of the room. She was in desperate need of some coffee. She absent-mindedly made her coffee and sat down at the nearest table. But she didn't notice that she had a companion at the table.

Sly was surprised when Carmelita sat down across from him. "Well now, this is a strange turn of events…" he thought to himself as he watched her enjoy her cup of coffee. He continued working on his reports and decided to try his luck. He spoke to her without looking up,

"Wow, you look like you really needed that." Carmelita nearly jumped out of her fur at the baritone voice. She then realized that she wasn't alone at the table. Straight across from her a young raccoon was working on some reports.

"Oh, uh…. ha ha… yeah, I didn't disturb you, did I?" she asked. She understood what it felt like to be interrupted while trying to do paperwork.

"No, not at all! I am actually glad to have some company." He said as he looked at her for the first time. She instantly recognized the raccoon as the father she had met at the Disney Park.

"Destini, I remember you and your daughter from the park, Desiree was her name, verdad?" she asked. He nodded and replied,

"Sí, se llama Desiree." (Yes, her name is Desiree.)

"Oh, muy bueno, señor! No tengo idea! Hablas español bien?" she asked intrigued. (Oh, very good, mister! I had no idea! Do you speak Spanish well?)

"Bien suficiente. ¿Tienes un dia malo?" he asked. (Well enough. Did you have a bad day?)

"Sí. Oh, estoy cansada. Necesito domir—" she admitted sleepily shaking her raven locks. He smiled sympathetically. (Yes. Oh, I am tired. I need to sleep.)

"I completely understand. But my shift just started so I'm not even knee deep in it yet." said Sly.

"Being nocturnal and working third shift must be a breeze," commented Carmelita trying to make conversation.

"Oh, it should but with me having to look after Desiree during some of the day cuts in on my sleep so I have good days and bad days or nights, whatever you want to call it. I guess you could say I work 24 hours a day," said Sly with a laugh. He was really enjoying the time he was spending with Carmelita even if it was just small talk. Because past experiences with her included running rather than talking and he preferred the latter.

"What is it that you do?" she asked now curious about the young man across from her. She could almost swear she knew him from somewhere other than the park but she just could not finger where.

"I am cardio surgeon but I spend a lot of my shift working here in the ER but I also do private surgeries during the day. I am also a domestic engineer." He said continuing to fill out paper work.

"A domestic--? Oh! Yeah that is a twenty-four hour job. But shouldn't she be asleep right now?"

"Should, but you never know with her. I hope she is asleep but Beatrice is there to keep her company if she is not." He responded.

"I have been meaning to ask you, is she your biological daughter?" she asked sheepishly.

"Yes, she is although I—never mind." He said. Carmelita watched sympathetically as a bunch of different emotions crossed his face one after another.

"I am sorry if I offended you." She added.

"No, it's ok. You look absolutely drained. You really need some sleep." He commented. She nodded mutely. She looked up at him with an embarrassed smile when her stomach started to growl.

"Umm… If you don't mind, I usually go home about this time for a late dinner. Would you like to join me? I am sure that Beatrice would not mind." Sly said looking at her once more.

"Ummm… But isn't that a bit… ummm…" Carmelita started but could not find the words to finish.

"You think Beatrice is my… Oh, no! She is married to a friend of mine, she just watches Desiree while I am at work." He said with a laugh, "A friend of the family, you see."

"Ohhh… My shift _is _about to end… I don't see why I couldn't… I would be delighted." She finally agreed. Sly nodded with a smile.

"Alright, I'll let them know that I am taking my break and we'll meet back here in, let's say, ten minutes." Sly said as he gathered his things and stood up. Carmelita stood as well nodding…

**In a medical lab not far from the Paris countryside…**

Joseph Macavity, but actually know as Adolf Hisser, was waiting patiently for his package to arrive. He was about 6'1" and weighed about 200 lbs. He had cold blue eyes and blonde hair that stuck out against his spotted cheetah face. He was paranoid being the boss and all. He knew that there were always people trying to get him. But when he got a hold of this specific weapon he would no longer need to fear anyone. A young rabbit dashed into the room with white box identical to one the doctors use to transport transplant organs. Adolf grabbed the box eagerly and sent the rabbit away. He sat it on the counter behind him and opened it. Inside was a glass with an excellent specimen of _**Vespa mandarinia **_or an Asian Giant Hornet, a pregnant queen to be exact. Joseph Macavity smiled at his acquisition. She was just barely two inches long but for an insect that was huge, no gigantic! But a beautiful creature nonetheless and a natural born killer after his illegal genetics evolution experiment was finished, with this queen he would create a world conquering army. The world would fall to its knees before him. The hornets were predators through and through. Their pinchers could take off another insect's head with just a few bites. No army would be able to defeat them. He would be unstoppable…

**At Sly's apartment…**

Sly opened the door to his apartment and stepped into the room followed by Carmelita. He closed the door and locked it then watched in avid fascination as Carmelita glided effortlessly from room to room scooping out her surroundings in a police like fashion. As she came back through the living room and past Sly once more he commented,

"I can safely say that my humble home is in a fairly decent order although, sadly, it might not pass the white glove test." He shrugged as she looked at him incredulously before she burst into a fit of laughter. Her laughter was music to his ears.

Carmelita wiped her eyes as her laughter died away. She felt so easy around him this was a bad sign for her. Because the only other person she knew that made her feel like this was… Sly Cooper… and everyone knew what he was… a thief… well used to be. "Wonder what that raccoon is up to anyway. Not causing any trouble I hope…" she thought. She walked over to the couch and sat down. She watched Destini take off his jacket and move his bags to the other side of the room out of the way. His arms were thick and muscular but not overly so. His fur looked so clean and soft. "Oh my… he is well-toned for a doctor… What am I doing? I have a boyfriend… a cheating boyfriend." She thought. Her ears flattened down against her head as she thought of her current predicament. "What have I done wrong? I way always faithful and did everything in the relationship I was supposed to but they were always somewhere else! The only person that treated me the way I wanted to be treated was Sly Cooper but he was a thief and I was a cop… even if… it would have never worked out. That is the reason; I can't stop living my life to the code of Cops and Robbers long enough to see what I have in front of me. That is why, I am afraid… afraid to open up and be Carmelita instead of Lt. Fox. Carmelita always ended up being hurt but Lt. Fox was a tough girl and would get over it." She thought sadly to herself. She could feel the prickle of unshed tears in her eyes. She just wanted to let down all of her defenses and cry but her pride would not let her. Even then she was fighting back tears. But one lone tear escaped and started its lonely descent down her soft feminine face.

She had been so immersed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Destini had gone to his room and changed. He was now standing at the hallway entrance to living room watching her. Sly's heart wrenched at the sight of the depressed vixen. Her ears were pressed flat against her head and her eyes were moist and huge. Her tail hung limply off the couch and she had a single tearstain on her face. Her face was contorted into a look of dejection and determination. Sly could pretty much guess that she was suffering emotionally and wanted no more than to release her pain but her pride got in the way. It upset him to see her in so much turmoil internally. He wanted to hold and comfort her but he knew he could not. He coughed alerting her to his presence. She jumped and instantly tried to cover up her emotional pain.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Y-y-yeah, yeah I just thinking." She said.

"Oh, okay. Still hungry?" he asked. Just then she heard a crash in the kitchen. She, startled, screeched,

"What was that?" She was now on her feet, in a defensive position, and holding her shock pistol. Then a shaky voice called from the kitchen,

"I'm ok. I'm ok. My wings just knocked down some pots." Sly chuckled as a shaken Carmelita began to calm down.

"My kitchen's pretty small and Beatrice's wings sometimes hits things and cause them to fall." He explained. She nodded as she lowered her weapon. He offered his hand to her and she accepted it as he led her into the kitchen.

**In a motel in Downtown Paris…**

Justin Whittaker rolled over in the bed when his cell started going off. His hand felt about on the dresser for his cell phone knocking down various condom wrappers, loose change, and receipts in the process. Finally his hand wrapped around the device, which he instantly opened and placed on his ear.

"Hello," he rasped.

"Whittaker!" growled a voice on the other end. Justin shot up in bed, wide-awake.

"S-s-sir! I--" he started, voice trembling.

"You haven't done a thing to bring me Cooper, weasel! I haven't even seen a picture of his daughter! You got four days left! If I don't have them by then, you die…" snarled Hisser. Then the line went dead. Justin was shivering now. Although he knew the room was warm and not a window was open. He figured this is what the count down to death felt like. Everything he had ever done was playing over and over in his mind. If hell did exist he was going to be on the express train straight to it. He felt disconnected from everything. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to nab Cooper without exposing himself and Macavity. He knew his boss definitely wouldn't like that. He slowly got up and started gathering up his clothes. He slowly put them on and looked about the room. He had to get rid of any incriminating evidence that could tie him to this place because he would have to leave no trance of himself here if he was going to try and capture Cooper and his daughter. He reached into a black bag on the floor and pulled out some black gloves slipping them on his hands. Cooper had completely integrated into civilian life and held a job. People would notice his disappearance and that of Desiree Cooper as well. So there could be no trace of Justin ever being in this room or anyone to remember him being there, especially someone that knew so much. He turned around to stare at the young redhead squirrel sleeping on her back in the bed. With the covers pulled up to her breasts.

Rachel Beaufort had been a favorite of Whittaker's many girls he had been with. She was his most constant companion at night plus, she was a newbie and a lot cheaper. He noticed her red thong lying on the tan carpet near the bed. He picked it up and held it a moment. He then sighed. He thought about spending one last night with her and then just waiting for the inevitable. But his instinct for self preservation won out and he decided to at least try and nab Cooper. He took the tong and walked over to the bed. He climbed on top of the woman straddling her. She moaned slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

"What are you doing?" she asked sleepily. He grinned. She was too sleepy to notice the malice in his eyes.

"Nothing, I just wanna play a game." He said. She sighed and said,

"This is gonna cost you extra, ya know."

"Yeah, I know. Just relax…" he said as he reached for one of her hands and kissed it before bringing it above her head. He then grabbed her other wrist and began wrapping the thong around both wrists. He then weaved it in and out of the bedposts before tying both ends of it together. He then got up and walked for what seem like eternity towards the table where a bottle of liquor sat. With each step his conscience argued with him about the moral wrongs of doing this. But Justin never cared about anyone but himself. This heinous crime he was about to commit would definitely prove that fact. He grabbed the bottle and ambled back over to the bed. He sat on top her once again and took the top of the bottle. "Say ahhh…"

**(If graphic stuff bothers you skip to the next bold type!)**

Rachel gasped when Justin turned the bottle upside drenching her with liquor as it overflowed in her opened mouth. She began to cough and sputter. She swallowed the liquor in big gulps by reflex. He stopped pouring after he noticed that most of it was going into the mattress and not her mouth. He then pried open her mouth as she struggled against him and poured some more alcohol in her mouth. He quickly covered her mouth and nose with one of his hands, which caused her to swallow the liquor in order for her to breathe through her partly covered mouth. The room was starting to spin before Rachel's eyes and her stomach felt like it was turning inside out. She tried to scream but Justin stuck the whole bottle in her mouth. She began to panic as she tried to swallow the liquor to open her airway and get air into her lungs. But the liquor was coming in a continuous stream. She struggled against the thong that held her arms captive but to no avail. The pain in her stomach was intensifying and her head was starting to throb. She began to kick her feet then after becoming tired she began pulling at lingerie binding her to bed. The elastic finally gave way but her arm felt as heavy as lead and she could not lift them. Her vision began to blur as drowsiness began to take over her mind. Her out of control panic was starting to escalate again as she realized that her death was near. Her heart was hammering painfully in her chest that was growing tighter and tighter. Her lungs were working in overdrive trying any small amount of air but not getting any. Her senses felt numb, her throat and jaw were becoming tight as if she were going to gag. She could fell herself starting to gag as her vision began to fade.

Justin did not even flinch when she started to vomit. He pulled the bottle out of her mouth and watched the vomit and liquor run down the sides of her mouth. He listened to the small gurgling sounds she made while she choked on her own vomit. Then she died with her eyes open at half-mast and glazed over. Justin got up leaving her on the bed. He went to the lobby and shot the manger. He then dragged the badger down the hall and into the room. He then stripped him of his clothes. Justin dove into his black bag again and pulled out a small knife. After he finished his business with the man and placed him in the bed next to the dead redhead, he pulled a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. He lit the cigarette and took a few drags. Then he walked over to the bed and dropped it in between the two dead bodies. He dropped the lighter on the floor as he walked out the door and closed it behind him.

**(You can read on now)**

Once outside Justin flipped open his cell phone and dialed a number. He put it to his ear and waited.

"Hey! Frankie." Justin said, "Meet me downtown, I gotta job for you…"

About two hours later in Desiree's Room… 

The young vixen tossed and turned in her small bed. Finally she sat up and hugged her tail to herself as she stared out into the starless night beyond her window. She barely noticed a shadow streak past her window. She slowly got up and crept to the window and looked out. She saw two men on the walkway outside of their apartment. One of the men turned around and started to walk towards the window. Desiree gasped and streaked back to her bed. She climbed in and feigned sleeping. She heard the window screen being cut and started to shake. Then she heard the sound of something metal hitting the concrete. She tried to make a sound but she was too afraid. Plus her little heart was pounding out of control and it seemed to block her throat. Then she heard the window creek open. Then before she knew it someone was standing over her. She screamed,

"Dadd--" But he covered her mouth…

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That's it! Review please! Here's a clip of the next chapter to placate your nerves:

… Carmelita was trying hard to contain her laughter but could not and was doubled over the table laughing. Destini was laughing too but stopped abruptly when a curious sound reached his ears.

"What's wrong?" asked Carmelita who had stopped laughing at Destini's change in demeanor, which had become stiff.

"Did you hear something?" he asked standing, "Like, a window opening?" Carmelita shook her head and stood up too. Then she heard a scream that was quickly cut off. She could not make out what the scream was exactly. But Sly could. His eyes grew huge and he bolted for Desiree's room…


	8. Chapter 8

¡Hola mis amigos! I am glad you guys are still enjoying the story still. There will be more action in this chapter I promise.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, and Adolf Hisser belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 8**

**In the kitchen…**

Beatrice had left earlier to check on things at her house. Destini and Carmelita had shared a good meal and were having a polite conversation. Destini had just finished telling a pretty hilarious story about one of his patients. Carmelita was trying hard to contain her laughter but could not and was doubled over the table laughing. Destini was laughing too but stopped abruptly when a curious sound reached his ears.

"What's wrong?" asked Carmelita who had stopped laughing at Destini's change in demeanor, which had become stiff.

"Did you hear something?" he asked standing, "Like, a window opening?" Carmelita shook her head and stood up too. Then she heard a scream that was quickly cut off. She could not make out what the scream was exactly. But Sly could. His eyes grew huge and he bolted for Desiree's room. He stopped in the doorway when he saw a huge red pit bull holding his daughter. Desiree was almost completely covered up by his massive arms. "Like Dad always said, 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall.'" Sly thought to himself. He used the dim lighting to his advantage. He quickly dashed around the pit bull and into the shadows behind it. He then crouched low, sprung into the air, and delivered a solid spin kick to the dog's head. The pit bull began to sway on his feet and dropped Desiree on her bottom and she scrambled away just in time as the pit bull tumbled over onto the floor with a loud thud. "Desiree get your things and run like I told you. Now!" ordered Sly. Desiree snatched Eliza off the bed and grabbed a green backpack with Tinker Bell drawn on it with some fabric paint, also courtesy of Desiree's artistic abilities, off of her door. She bolted past a startled Carmelita and grabbed Sly's cane among the umbrellas. She then fiddled with the latch and the cane turned into two separate smaller canes. She laid them down, quickly opened her backpack, and put the canes inside followed by Eliza. She zipped up the backpack, put it on and headed for the door. Just as she reached for the knob someone kicked the door in. She screamed and then there were to two bright flashes. She stood spell bound before she looked behind herself to see Carmelita with her shock pistol pointed in the direction of where the thug had been.

"You okay, kid?" she asked. Desiree nodded and bolted out the door leaving behind a bewildered Carmelita. The only thing running in her mind was what her father had drilled into her head time and time again during training. She had gotten the cane, the book was in her backpack, her blades were in the bag, along with a cell phone, some money, clothes, and Eliza. Now she had to make her way to the Gang's old hideout, wait there, and pray that her father made it there alive too. She was reaching the end of the walkway but she was prepared. About a foot away from the railing she jumped straight up, spun around, and landed on the rail in a crouched position before leaping off, spinning around in midair, and landing on an angled steel cable. She then slid down it and hit the ground running. But she did not see the black van parked across the street.

"Geez, did you see that! The kid just leapt right off the rail! Talk about fearless!" exclaimed the pit bull in the driver's seat. The pit bull in the passenger seat shouted,

"Come on and quit gawking! She's getting away!" Both dogs jumped out of the van and were followed by four more piling out of the back. Desiree heard the pounding footsteps, looked behind herself, and screamed…

**With Sly and Carmelita…**

Sly had just met up with Carmelita outside of the apartment. She told him that Desiree had somehow managed to get to the ground level and had taken off running. Both of them started running when they heard the scream. But they soon stopped when they heard the two thugs from inside the apartment coming up behind. They turned around together and cleaned their attackers' clocks.

"Impressive martial arts, buster." Carmelita commented as they made their way to the end of the walkway. Sly grinned in thanks. They both leapt over the rail and landed surely on their feet. The duo rushed after the mob that was chasing after Desiree. Carmelita picked off a couple of the dogs with her shock pistol. But it wasn't enough. They both sped up closing the gap between them and dogs…

**With Desiree…**

Her heart was going two miles a minute and her breath was coming in short ragged breaths. But she did not stop running actually she sped up. Her nightgown was flailing in her wake. She was so focused on running that she almost didn't see the wall until she almost ran into it. She threw out her hands to stop herself before she hit the wall. She cried out as her palms connected painfully with the wall sending a raw jarring sensation up her small arms and into her shoulders. She could feel the prickle of tears forming in her eyes but instantly started looking for a way out. She saw the pole and rushed for it. She reached out for it with her paw and deftly caught it and zipped up it like a spider without stopping. A few seconds later two of the four canines chasing her comically bashed their skulls against the wall and knocked themselves cold. Desiree, who was watching from the rooftop, giggled before taking off…

**While Sly and Carmelita…**

They watched as the rest of the conscious dogs looked around bewildered before one spotted a fire escape going up the building they were in front of. They started making their way up the stairs. But Carmelita was a quick thinker and began pelting the old fire escape with rounds from her shock pistol. The fire escape began to crumble and fell apart, taking one of the dogs with it. The other dog had barely stepped his other foot on to the rooftop when the fire escape collapse. Carmelita swore loudly.

"What are we gonna do? He's up there with Desiree and we have no way to get up there!" she howled in frustration. Sly eyed the pole warily. He was warring inside. If he followed after Desiree using the pole, Carmelita might recognize him. But if he didn't that beast of a dog following her might hurt her. Finally he raced for the pole and scaled it with surprising speed and dexterity, which meant he hadn't lost his thieving abilities. He hopped onto the roof and turned back to look at Carmelita.

Carmelita stared. For a moment she swore that if she replaced the khaki shorts and baby blue shirt that Destini was wearing with Sly Cooper's thieving outfit, he looked just like the former Master Thief. "Why can't I stop thinking about him!" thought Carmelita as she shook her head to clear it.

"Desiree is headed for the satellite field! You know where that is?" Destini yelled down. She nodded.

"I'll just clean up around here. You go for Desiree!" she shouted backed. He nodded and took off. Carmelita looked at all the fallen bodies around her. She pulled out her phone and proceeded to call in the incident…

**Meanwhile…**

Desiree was a bouncing dot against the night sky. She streaked across the cement, feet stinging each time they hit the solid surface. She was gasping for breath now. She was leaping gaps between buildings with complete grace and skill. Sly would have been so proud. She slid to a halt as she came to a huge gap that she was sure that she could not clear. She turned to face her aggressor as she slid the backpack off of her sore shoulders. She quickly opened it and extracted her blades from before sliding the bag out of the way with her foot. She stood in a defensive position with a golden blade in each paw. The blades were modeled after Chinese scythes that were used as fighting tools by poor farmers. The blades were C-shaped in the likeness of her father's cane. The only part of the weapons that could be seen were the two huge blades, the handles hidden in her paws. Her eyes filled with fire as she was filled with the fighting spirit. The wind picked up slightly whipping her hair around her face and her nightshirt fluttered around her calves. These small changes turned the little seven-year-old girl into a fierce warrior princess. The dog was so stunned he stopped and stared. That was a mistake Desiree took advantage of. She rushed forward and struck with her right hand first plunging the weapon she was holding into his belly. He grunted and doubled over. She then swung her left arm in a huge arch and bashed the other scythe into the dog's head. She did a backwards summersault to evade the falling thug. Who would have known that her gymnastics class would come in handy so much? Mixed with her father's fighting instruction she was pretty good for a beginner fighter. She stayed in her defensive stance expecting the thug to rise at any moment. Then he began to groggily struggle to his feet. He looked about dazed, before his eyes fell on Desiree.

"You hit me, girlie." He growled. Desiree gasped in fake surprise before sneering in a sarcastic voice,

"I did?" The pit bull's eyes narrowed as he fell on all four growling and charged Desiree. The little vixen was surprised by his speed but easily jumped and flipped over the charging canine. He slid to a halt and turned back around to face Desiree. She was panting and a pain was starting in her chest. She was tired but she could not rest just yet. The dog charged again and Desiree dodged this assault by flipping to the right. Now Desiree was standing right in front of a metal smoke stack. The dog was directly in front of her. She eyed the smoke stack and was instantly inspired. "Toro, Toro!" she taunted. She could almost see the dog's eyes turning red from the anger. He charged her again and Desiree waited until he was barely a few centimeters from her and she jumped straight up and over the dog as his head connected with the metal. "Olé!" she crowed happily as she landed. The dog was lying face down on the ground, unconscious. Desiree sighed in relief and plopped down on the ground where she stood. She was breathing hard as she tried to catch her breath. The pain in her chest only intensified with each breath of air. She began to moan as other pains returned as the effects of the adrenaline in her system began to wear off. Her shoulders, arms, and hands throbbed unmercifully. Her legs and feet burned as if they were on fire. She finally began to cry, as the pain grew worse…

**Not very far away…**

Sly jumped another to building. He was feeling the all too familiar rush as he was making his way across the rooftops. Truth be told, he really did miss the gang and the excitement of pulling off a good job. But he was pretty content with his new life, too. He landed on the roof next to where Desiree and the pit bull were. He gasped when he saw Desiree laying still on the next rooftop. He had made the final jump before he even thought about it. He stooped down next to his daughter who was gasping for air between sobs. He gently scooped her up into his arms.

"What's the matter?" he asked. She gasped out,

"Everything… hurts…" Sly looked about and guessed what had happened. Desiree got cornered and used her weapons to fight the bulldog. It was also pretty obvious that the dog lost. But she was exhausted and it may have been too much for her weak heart. He looked down at his daughter again when her gasping turned into wheezing. Sly panicked. "She can't breathe!" he thought. He laid her back down on the cement, grabbed her weapons, and made a dash for her backpack. He put them back in the bag and closed it. He put it on himself and rushed back to Desiree's side. He picked her up and worked his way back down to the ground. He then took off in the direction of the hospital…

**Awhile later in Nautica's Compound…**

"WHAT!!! What do you mean some of my father's men attacked the Cooper residence!" screeched Nautica. The young mouse that reported the news was quaking in the shadow of the enraged vixen. "Were any of our targets injured?" The young mouse managed to stutter out,

"The child, there seems to be a problem with the child…" Nautica let out a bloodthirsty howl that shook the whole room.

"Why are you still here?! Get to the hospital, see what the problem is, and find a solution to it! I need the child alive at least until my plan is finished!!" roared Nautica. The young mouse tripped twice because he was in such a hurry to get out of his angry mistress's sight…

**Back at the Apartments…**

Carmelita looked on as a group of officers loaded up the last of the dogs. She made sure that someone repaired the door and window. Then as she getting into her convertible, her phone rang.

"Carmelita Fox." She said when she answered it.

"This is Mark from the hospital. One of our doctors is requesting your appearance. He says he may know something about the attack on the apartment complex," said Mark.

"Really? Give me five." She said.

"Ok." Said Mark and he hung up. Carmelita hung up her phone and sped off. She practically ran into the hospital when she got there. Mark the mouse was waiting for her. "Carmelita, he won't speak to any other police officer but you."

"Okay, lead the way, Mark," said Carmelita. He led her into a patient's room where a burned parrot was sleeping while another figure was leaning over it. Mark closed the door behind Carmelita. After her eyes became used to the dim lighting she realized that the figure was Destini. "Wha--"

"Some sources of mine, just confirmed that those thugs work for Joseph Macavity… I hear you two have a history together…" said Destini quietly.

"Yeah… we do. Why?" she asked.

"Because for some crazy reason he wants my daughter. And I want to know why." He answered simply.

"Perhaps, he wants to use her as bait to cohere you into doing something for him." She answered with a shrug. He sighed before saying,

"I thought so… He knows… so I thought it best that you know, too."

"Know what?" asked Carmelita, completely caught off guard.

"I think you already know…" he said as he continued to look over his patient's vital signs. She was still confused.

"I don't—"

"Really, Inspector… two and a half years has not been that long… has it?" he asked as he scribbled down something on the patient's chart. She gasped. An image of Sly Cooper's police file flashed in her mind. The Master Thief's full name was Destini Sly Cooper. She groaned. "I should have known! All of the crazy familiarities I felt around him." thought Carmelita.

"But why—"

"Did I quit being a thief?" he finished for her.

"Yeah," she said feeling a bit uneasy now.

"Simple… It was the only way that I could keep her safe… or so I thought…" he said with a sigh. He finally looked at her for the first time since she entered the room. His deep brown eyes were tired and his hair was all over the place. He looked extremely burdened as he walked past her his coat flailing in his wake. She followed in silence but inside she was screaming. "WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON?" she screeched in her mind. Every time her and Cooper met trouble was sure to head her way. But by working with him she always came out on top. But also she and Cooper had also formed this sort of mutual friendship although she hated to admit it. She cared for him more than she cared to say, too. Now, she was in another pickle thanks to Cooper. If only she could have realized that her destiny had been intertwined with his since birth and not because of him being around. But she would learn later on. The policewoman in her wanted to slap the cuffs on him and drag him off to jail but the woman in her wanted to play nice. He walked into a room they used as a bunker for the night and morning shifts. He sat down on one of the bottom bunkers and put his head in his hands. "What I am going to do?" he moaned.

"About what?" asked Carmelita weakly still in a mental limbo as she closed the door behind her. He lifted his head to look at her. She was taken a back when she saw the tears streaming down his face.

"Desiree, the incident at the apartment was too much for her. Her heart, I mean. If she doesn't get another one within the next week, she'll—oh God!" he moaned and broke into sobs. Carmelita was stunned. In her mind she saw the confident, slick tongued and quick thief she had chased all the way around the world and back again on more than one occasion. But as she allowed herself to see Sly Cooper as person and not a criminal her heart wrenched for him. Now what she saw before her was a grief- stricken father who was about to lose his daughter and was helpless to stop it. The familiar pain returned in Carmelita's chest when she thought about her own dead child. Then she realized for the first time that she and Sly had a lot more in common then she wanted to admit. Right then her stubborn black and white outlook on life merged and became a gray area in her mind as her barriers separating her from the rest of the world shattered. For the first in years, she was seeing the world and the man before her clearly. She slowly crossed the room to sit by Sly's side on the bed. She reached out and took the inconsolable man into her arms where he clung to her and sobbed harder. She was so touched that she was moved to tears. As they formed in her eyes her emotions came with them. One lone tear slid down her face, then a second, and a third. By that time, her emotions overran her pride and she wailed as she too began to sob loudly. She hadn't cried like this in a long time. She grieved for herself, her deceased baby, Sly, Desiree, her job, her awful relationship, and anything else that was grating her nerves. She began to sob louder as she realized that she was not the super-human she imagined herself to be but a woman that had tried to take on too much alone and had reached her wits end.

"Pleeeaaassseee! Oh God! Help me! Pleeeaaasseee! Please! Help us, please! Plea—" she wailed before breaking into sobs again. She felt so helpless and had called on the only other person she could think of that could and would help her. She began rocking back and forth with Sly in her arms. But the saddest thing was that no one else heard the grieving pair for the white noise of a typical night in the Paris ER…

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I know you guys want to throw something at me right now… but that's it… review please…

Here's a snippet of Ch. 9:

… Nautica laughed evilly. She would be able to kill to birds with one stone with this plan. She could save her plan and ruin her father's plan completely….


	9. Chapter 9

Hi guys! I know the ending last chapter was rough. But sadly we are in the middle of a storm. So, it's only going to get worse. Sorry. But on with the story…

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, and Adolf Hisser belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro. The song "Shout to the Lord" belongs to Darlene Zschech.

**Chapter 9**

**Awhile later at Paris Memorial…**

Carmelita Fox began to stir slightly. She was going to panic at first but then remembered where she was and what had taken place earlier. After she had finished releasing her emotional pain she was truly exhausted and had fallen asleep with Sly in her arms. As the last thought crossed her mind, her cop side began to chastise her heart. "What were you thinking?! Sleeping with a thief!"

"Sleeping… so I wasn't thinking…" it replied. Carmelita shook her head to clear it. She slowly sat up to avoid hitting her head on the bunker above her. Carmelita then realized that she was alone and covered by Sly's jacket. She took it off and folded it neatly then sat it beside herself on the bed. Getting to her feet, she walked out of the bunker and back into the ER. She eyed the wall clock that read 5:00 am and decided that it was time for her to leave. She said good night to Mark and headed back to her car. She walked to her red convertible and got in. Then she pulled onto the road for one of the longest rides home in her life. As she drove home, her mind and heart argued loudly.

"He is a _thief_!" her mind screamed.

"That gave back everything he stole, and accumulated his wealth by accepting rewards from the owners." Her heart replied.

"He probably stole them in order to get the rewards!" her mind battled back.

"The items you caught him with had already been stolen." Her heart cleverly pointed out. Carmelita finally got fed up with the hopeless fight since she finally came to the conclusion that Cooper was guilty of one crime and one crime only, the theft of her heart. But the question was if she was willing to let him keep it. She pulled into her driveway. Her small apartment was well-furnished and cozy, which made Carmelita herself stick out like a sore thumb within it. She was highly agitated, jittery, and emotionally wrecked. She threw down her work bags and walked back to her room. She opened her bureau and pulled out one of her most comfortable nightgowns. She laid it down on her bed and walked into her bathroom. She undressed and turned on the faucet on her tub. She then went to her bathroom counter and grabbed her lavender bubble bath. She poured some into the already fast-filling tub, then turned the faucet off a few moments later, and climbed in.

"Ahhh…" purred Carmelita as the warm water began to relax her tired and tight muscles. She rested her head against the wall behind her and closed her eyes. A few minutes later Justin stormed into the bathroom with his eyes a blaze. Carmelita quickly covered up the exposed parts of her bare body with a nearby washcloth. "What are you doing here?!" she half-shrieked. He moved over towards the tub to stand over her.

"I hear you were over at another _man's _apartment. How dare you--" he started but Carmelita cut him off. She proceeded to tell him off and berate him for having the audacity to fuss at her about being at another man's apartment while he wasn't around, although he was sleeping around with every other woman in Interpol, whereas she was just having dinner with a friend. By the time she was finished his face was purple with rage. Then he reached out, before Carmelita could react, and grabbed her hair then shoved her head under the water. She struggled against him to no avail. Her eyes were stinging, her lungs were about to burst, and her mind was scrambling to find a way out. But she started to panic and opened her mouth to scream and water immediately rushed into her mouth. With air and way too much water in her system she began to lose consciousness. But then…

Her eyes snapped open. They instantly began stinging as water and soap got into them. She instantly sat up splashing water everywhere. She had fallen asleep in the tub, slid down into the water, and nearly drowned. She was gasping for air now as she tried to compose herself…

**At Nautica's Compound…**

"I cannot believe that my fool of a father actually sent his men to attack Cooper's home! He probably slipped up and messed up one of his plans and one of his cronies promised him Cooper to ease out of being killed…" growled Nautica to herself. Oh, yes. Her father was going to pay for this transgression; he was going to pay dearly. But she would have to worry about revenge later, first she was going to have to find a way to save the life of Cooper's daughter. Either that or she would lose the center jewel in the crown of her plan. Just as she was finishing her pacing, another attendant walked in. "What do you want?" she growled.

"Miss, Amarianni was injured in the attack on the Disney Park your father oversaw. If she were to die that would disintegrate his truce with the Vencinette Gang. This could start a war. This could really hurt your father finically and in work force numbers." said the female attendant.

"And… how's this going to help my current predicament, Mirage?" asked Nautica turning around to glare at her attendant, who withered under her gaze. But the lynx continued to speak in a hesitant voice,

"Amarianni's blood type, ironically, is the same as Cooper's daughter. We could kill Amarianni and give her heart to the girl. Your problem is fixed and your father's life becomes hell." Nautica laughed evilly. She would be able to kill to birds with one stone with this plan. She could save her plan and ruin her father's plan completely. This was too perfect an opportunity to miss.

"I think we will follow through with this plan of yours, how much time will you need to prepare?" asked Nautica.

"A-at least forty-eight hours, ma'am." said Mirage in a weak voice. Nautica nodded adding,

"Time granted if you get on it this minute."

"Yes, miss." Agreed the lynx and was gone…

**About noon time the same day…**

Carmelita decided to grab a quick lunch and headed over to the hospital to see how Desiree was holding up. She had dropped off her partner, Rochelle at a shoe store sale a couple of blocks away. She parked her red convertible in the parking lot and headed into the hospital. She passed the nurses' station and entered into the Pediatric unit. Truth be told, this was not her favorite unit to visit. It broke her heart to see all of the ailing and injured children. She sometimes had to flatten her ears against her head to drown out the cries of the babies and toddlers. She kept going deeper into the unit until she found the room number she was looking for. She was about to walk in when she noticed that two voices were talking. One, she could immediately tell, belonged to Sly and the other was weak and angelic, which must have been Desiree's. She crept closer to the open door to listen.

"Daddy, what was that song you taught me?" asked Desiree. Carmelita watched as Sly took Desiree's small paw in his and began to stroke it lovingly. All the tubes protruding from her small frame looked like parasites rather than her life supports. Desiree's fine hair wasn't as shiny as it used to be. It was actually turning gray in some places. The usual spark in her eyes had dimmed a little and would probably only grow dimmer.

"What song is that, little one?" he asked.

"Ummm… the one you taught that me, we sang to God sometimes." She answered her voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh, Shout to the Lord? Is that is?" he asked his voice threatening to break. Although he was trying to hide it from his child, Carmelita could see that Sly was hurting deeply on the inside. Desiree nodded her tiny head.

"Could you… sing it for me again?" she asked in a broken whisper. He nodded mutely and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. But a few moments later he started to sing in a deep, rich, baritone voice that only a loving father could manage,

_My Jesus, my Saviour _

_  
Lord there is none like You, _

_  
All of my days, I want to praise_

_  
The wonders of Your mighty love. _

"I wanna sing this part, I remember it now." interjected Desiree. She took a deep breath and began to sing in a small, rich, sweet voice like the babble of a gentle stream,

_My comfort, my shelter _

_  
Tower of refuge and strength,_

_  
Let every breath, all that I am_

_  
Never cease to worship You._

Sly rejoined Desiree in the chorus,

_Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing_

_  
Power and majesty, Praise to the King._

_  
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar _

_  
At the sound of Your name. _

_  
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands. _

_  
Forever I'll love You, Forever I'll stand._

_  
Nothing compares to the promise_

_  
I have in You._

Desiree had grown tired and fallen asleep, her voice trailing off during the last verse. Sly then slowly reached forward and began stroking her soft hair. He then got up and moved to the table at the foot of the bed. Upon the table was a basin filled with warm water. He reached in and pulled out a washcloth then wrung it out. He then went back over to Desiree and gently as he could, began to wipe off her face. She sighed a bit and settled down again. He then walked back to the basin and put the washcloth back in. He then went back to the couch that he had been sitting on and laid down. After a few moments, his breathing evened out and he was fast asleep. Carmelita was once again deeply touched by Sly's gestures. "If only," she thought sadly, "I could be treated that way for just a day, I would be happy." She craved that type of devotion in a partner, they didn't have to spoil her or attend to her every whim, just love her. Blinking back tears, Carmelita turned to leave deciding to come back later and let the two of them get the rest they so richly deserved…

**While in Amarianni's Room…**

Mirage slipped into the sleeping parrot's room quietly. She stood beside the young woman's bed seriously debating whether or not to wake her. Finally she decided that what she had to tell her friend was important enough to wake her.

"Amarianni, Amarianni," she called out softly. The parrot moaned rolling over to face Mirage her golden eyes coming to rest on her friend's face.

"Mirage," she gasped softly. "What are you doing here?" Mirage hung her head. Her shame was evident.

"I-I have done something awful…" she finally blurted out unable to bear the weight of the secret no more. Amarianni blinked.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I told Nautica that you and Cooper's daughter have the same blood type. She's going to—"

"Kill me to use my heart to save the girl because she needs her to snag Cooper…" Amarianni finished for her, "I know of Nauctica's intentions. I was expecting this. Could you bring Aurora to me please?"

"Uhhh… of course, miss." said Mirage backing out of the room. Amarianni sighed and looked up at the ceiling. She was dying anyway… an infection from the burns… she was not going to last much longer anyway. Though it would hurt to leave Aurora behind, she had no choice. Aurora would have no family, save for her aunt. But Margolo would have enough to deal with, without having to take care of her niece, too. Her father was somewhere but Amarianni had no clue where. She had received a letter from him about two years ago. She could still see the letter as if it were in front of her now.

_Amarianni,_

_I have found a group of unscrupulous persons that call themselves the Klaww Gang. They are planning to steal the infamous Clockwerk parts to use in their devious plots! One of the Klaww Gang members particularly worries me. Her name is Neyla. She practically gets anyone to trust her. But she only works for herself, I can tell but I have employed her as my protégée as her skills will come in handy in acquiring the rest of the parts. Which are currently being gathered by Sly Cooper and his gang, but she ended up heaping them all into jail under the Contessa's watch after using them to collect some of the parts! This worries me, love, for I fear now that she will betray me too. __But I will go as far as I have to free you all from that accursed Hisser. I fear for you and Aurora everyday, my love. But I think I have a way to get rid of that awful feline by reassembling the old mechanical bird in order to exact revenge on that fiend. It will take some time I am afraid, but do not lose hope, I will free you. Tell Aurora that I love and miss her terribly and take care._

_Love your dearest,_

_Arpeggio_

She had not heard from her husband since. This worried her terribly because she feared the worst had happened. But what of her daughter? Who would take her in? Who could protect her? Cooper… yes, he would… he would help her. She had heard of his kind and trusting heart. "Yes," she thought herself. "I must get him to help me." Just then Mirage came back with Aurora in tow. The young fledging had gauze wrapped around her small wings that covered up her burns.

"Ciao, baby bird, how do you feel?" she asked gently as her daughter came closer to her bedside. Aurora was the same age as Desiree, only younger by a few months, and just as smart. Amarianni knew this and knew her child would understand what was happening.

"Better, máma." she chirped.

"I am glad." She said solemnly. "My dear, there is something I must tell you. And you must listen well." Aurora nodded and Amarianni proceeded to tell her daughter everything…

**Meanwhile Sly was dreaming… **

Sly was reliving a memory he had almost forgotten. He was very young in this particular memory. This was back way before he took on Clockwerk the first time seven years ago from the present time to be exact. He was working his way through the labyrinth like basement of Joseph Macavity's Medical Center. He was here to steal the GPS system for Macavity's shipping trucks to use in the team van. As he was creeping along one of the corridors he heard a moan. It sounded distinctly female. Thank goodness that the security system in the medical center required him to cut off his communicator or else he would have to deal with Bentley and his conscience. He began making his way towards the sound trying to see where it was coming from. Finally he happened upon a room. It had a heavy brown door and a dead bolt lock on it. Sly slowly turned the dead bolt to unlock it and the door swung open. What Sly saw before him made him drop his cane, which clattered noisily on the floor. Chained to a medium-sized bed, by her ankle, was Carmelita Montoya Fox. She was sweating and panting pitifully save for the occasional moan. But that wasn't what had Sly stunned. She was dressed in a white tattered dress that was plain in design like the kind a servant would wear. It was stretched tightly across her swollen belly. It did take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. Carmelita was suffering from the throes of childbirth. He was moving before the thought to move crossed his mind.

He stooped down next to Carmelita and brushed her damp bangs out of her face. Her head felt warm and her fur was sodden. She opened her eyes a bit at his touch and looked up at him. But she was in too much pain to say anything to him. She gasped and snapped her eyes shut tight as another contraction gripped her. He knew he could not leave her side now. The basement was deserted and she was about give birth.

"Carmelita," he ventured slowly, "you need help and I have not come across another living soul but you." Her eyes flew open at this and she growled,

"No way! No—Ahhhhh…" She screamed as a harder contraction hit her. Tears were starting to fall down her pretty face.

"Carmelita, quit being so stubborn and let me help you." sighed Sly. He was worried for her and the child.

"Fine…" she breathed before trying to sit up but struggling greatly. Sly instantly helped her to sit up and lean back against the headboard of the bed. "Will you… you know… watch?" He could here the modest embarrassment in her voice. He knew what she meant. He nodded. He slowly moved down to the end of the bed. When he got there he kept his eyes on her face to save her some dignity.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Carmelita nodded through her pain. Sly was actually pretty nervous. He had no idea what he was doing. But he was going to have to trust Carmelita. She gasped and then during the same contraction began to push hard. Then after a few moments she relaxed. She was really panting. Sly could tell this was taking a great toll on her body. She cried out again but didn't hesitate to push again either. After a moment she relaxed again. A really hard contraction hit her and she screamed,

"I AM GOING TO KILL HER FOR THIS!!!"

"Kill who?" asked Sly clearly confused.

"Nautica…owww…. Macavity…. The twisted woman that got me in this position… ahhhh… She worked with genetics and helped her father start an illegal fertilization clinic… and she thought that… owwww…. It would be… fun to have me be the unwilling mother of their first trial implantation! Ahhhh…." By the time she was through talking another hard contraction had hit her. Sly had already made up his mind that Nautica and her father needed to go… to jail that is. Another cry from Carmelita snapped him out of his ravine. She was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open. Sly happened to look down and saw that there blood everywhere. Carmelita pushed again but this time with all she had left. Sly was watching expectantly and then he saw it. The baby's head came into view.

"Carmelita?" Sly called uncertainly. He looked up to find the taxed vixen unconscious. He panicked and rushed to her side and started to try to coax her awake again. "Carmelita, Carmelita!" he called. Her eyes slowly fluttered and Sly sighed with relief. "You need to push one more time… your baby is almost here."

She nodded.

"Towel." She muttered. Sly was confused at first until Carmelita nodded her head in the direction she wanted him to look. He turned around found towels lying on the side of a sink. He went over and picked them up and brought them back to the bed. Carmelita was breathing slowly when he returned.

"Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded and pushed. Sly grabbed one of the towels and caught the baby in it and started to clean it. As cleaned it he could make out some curly red hair and that child was indeed a fox, a female, like her mother. After a few moments the little pup got cold and started whimper and cry. Sly got rid of the dirty towel he used to clean the baby and grabbed the clean one to wrap her in. While Sly was covering up the pup she opened her eyes for the first time. Sly was entranced by their deep emerald color. He slowly made his way back to Carmelita's side and gave her the child. She quietly thanked him for everything…

Sly's eyes flew open. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. That memory had ceased to exist until just a few moments ago when he dreamed it. Why? Ever since that Disney attack, nothing has been making any sense in his life anymore. He looked at his daughter who was still sleeping peacefully. He slowly stood up and made his way out of the room. He was going back to his office to ponder over that memory some more but was intercepted by a female lynx.

"Dr. Cooper, Could I speak to you for a moment?" she asked.

"Of course, Miss…"

"Mirage. But it is a friend of mine that needs to speak with you." She admitted.

"Well, led the way, pretty lady." He said with a smile. Mirage mood lifted considerably and she smiled back at him. She then led him back to Amarianni's room.

"Ah, Mr. Cooper," said Amarianni, "I am afraid to ask you to carry such a burden for me. Especially after I gave you all that trouble at the park when you were only trying to help me."

"Don't worry about that. But what is it you need from me?" Sly asked. Amarianni sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Then she began to tell Sly Cooper her troubles and even clearing up some of his. So, finally after all that talking, Amarianni asked the vital question,

"Would it be too much trouble for you to adopt my daughter, I just want her to be safe. Not that I don't trust my sister with Aurora's care, it's just that she is married to a mafia boss, unwillingly, and that in its self is a war zone. You understand?" Sly nodded completely understanding the mother bird's worry. Sly took a few minutes to ponder the request. "Well, Desiree always did want a sister…" he thought to himself. "But taking care of two children is just a big juggling act. But challenges have not stopped me before so why should they stop me now…"

"Yes, I will adopt your daughter." He said aloud. This eased Amarianni's heavy heart.

"Mirage has all the paperwork ready for you all you have to do is sign. There are some other papers that I have left for you as well. They might help to explain a lot of the strange happenings surrounding your life lately." said Amarianni. Sly nodded and took the stack of papers from the lynx. "Thank you, Sly Cooper, Master Thief." She added as Sly walked out the door. He stopped and looked back at her. "Don't worry I will take your secret to the grave with me." He seemed to relax and continued out the door…

**About 15 minutes later with Carmelita…**

Carmelita decided after walking around shopping with Rochelle on the first half of their break after she left the hospital that she would go back. She left Rochelle flirting with the male cashier in another store. She entered the hospital again and after finding Desiree alone in her room still asleep. So, she made her way to Sly's office. She really needed to talk to him. She had made up her mind that she would see if she would be able to give blood for Desiree's surgery when they found a heart. She was about to knock on the door when she heard a voice exclaim,

"Das darf doch wohl nicht wahr sein! Nicht zu fassen!" At first, Carmelita could not make out what language it was until the swearing started. She had been sworn at by enough German criminals to know what those words meant. But the question remained, since when did Sly speak German? She finally got over her nerves long enough to knock. "Ja? Herein! I mean, come in." She opened the door to find Sly sitting behind his desk with a serve nervous look on his handsome features. He was quietly muttering to himself in what she believed to be German as his eyes poured over what looked like a news article. She quietly closed the door behind her and spoke,

"Ummm… Sly?" His head snapped up, he was surprised to hear her voice.

"Carmelita, you must forgive me," he admitted, "I tend to favor my native German when I get agitated." She nodded in understanding; she sometimes reverted back to her native Spanish when agitated.

"But I thought you were—"

"French? My father was so I guess I am half. But I grew up in Germany with my mother before coming to France to live with my father when I was eight." He explained his Germanic accent slowly disappearing with every word. For some strange reason that accent sent chills down her spine but she chose to ignore it.

"Your mother? No wonder no one knew anything about her here in France, she was from Germany! We were searching the wrong database." gasped Carmelita.

"Plus, my father and she agreed that she should not take my father's name when they married." Sly added. He reached over grabbed a picture off of his desk and studied it a moment. "die Mama…" he sighed with a tinge of nostalgia in his voice. He then held the picture out to Carmelita. She stepped forward and reached to take it but stopped.

"Are you sure?" she asked. He nodded.

"It doesn't matter… I have no idea where she is anyway. I haven't seen her since the day I left Germany." He said sadly. Carmelita formed a silent 'oh' with her mouth and gently took the picture. In the picture stood a regal snow leopard with deep brown eyes dressed in a royal blue cheongsam dress with black embroidered sleeves and hem. Right on her beast in the center was an embroidered 'C' in black thread with the unique Cooper design. There was blush on her cheeks and blue eye shadow adorned her eyes. Her hair was in a high bun on top of her head, held in place by a pair of royal blue chopsticks. In her slender white hand she held a black fan that looked to be made of lace and black sandals adorned her feet. The look on her face told of her wisdom and grace while her smile portrayed patience and kindness.

"If this is your real mother then doesn't that mean that…?"

"Yes, Carmelita, I am a half-breed." replied Sly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N: **That's it folks…. I am going to do translations at the very end of this note. More about Sly's mother next chapter! German:

Das darf doch wohl nicht wahr sein!: This just can't be true!

Nicht zu fassen!: I can't believe it!

Ja? Herein!: Yes? Come in!

die Mama: Mama

Okay, here's a preview of the next chapter:

…"Yes, Carmelita… Adolf Hisser aka Joseph Macavity wants to turn France into his "Third Reich", and he will purify France by wiping out _all _the half-breeds and anyone associated with them…." said Sly sadly…


	10. Chapter 10

Hi it's me again! Thanks for the kind words and such! Sorry it is taking me so long. But here is the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, and Adolf Hisser belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro. The song "Papercut" belongs to Linkin Park.

**Chapter 10**

"You're a half-breed?!" Carmelita screeched straining not to shout. Sly just leaned back in his chair and sighed. "That explains all of your agility and power despite your size."

"Yeah, that and extensive amount of training I received as a child." said Sly. Carmelita got a pensive look on her face.

"Like the martial arts you showed off the night before?" she asked. He nodded.

"Mother was an excellent teacher of the Japanese martial arts." He commented. Carmelita looked at the picture again and then back at Sly with a confused look on her pretty face.

"Huh? I thought she was Chinese." Said Carmelita as she sat down in the chair in front of the desk and sat the picture back on the desk. Sly nodded.

"She is. But she is also part Japanese. Her mother was a Japanese geisha and the daughter of a prominent Japanese diplomat. After a shoddy deal fell through, he gave his daughter's hand in marriage to placate the Chinese mob he angered. The mob accepted the exchange. But the leader was not very happy with it. Her mother was bonded to the mob's leader. At first, she resented her predicament. But she grew to love the leader and thus managed to somehow change him. He left his criminal institution to one of his most trusted men and retreated to the countryside with his new bride. They lived happily in Nanking, China until 1938. Then her father sent word that the Japanese were going to attack China and had her and her husband whisked away to Germany. But then Hitler's Third Reich sprung up. Her father had some strings pulled in the hierocracy of Germany and had his daughter shielded from the harsh treatment of the time. After World War II ended, my grandmother stayed on in Germany. Later on, my mother would be born and raised there." concluded Sly. Carmelita's mind reeled with all the new information she had acquired.

"So, where does your father come in?" asked Carmelita. Sly sighed and paused for a minute.

"He was pulling a job off in Germany. One night after completing a heist he had snuck into a German party. A party my mother happened to be attending. They met over a dance and instantly bonded. My mother followed my father to his gang's hideout and saw him without his disguise. She instantly recognized him then. She confronted my father and his gang then threatened to expose them if they did not take her in as a member. My father was so impressed by her boldness that he granted her request. She left a note for my grandparents and went off to see the world with my father as a second Master Thief. They later fell in love and married," said Sly softly, "But my parents are the least of my worries right now. For it seems that France has its own "Adolf Hitler". His name is Adolf Hisser."

"You don't think he would that far? Do you?" asked Carmelita a little fear in her voice.

"Yes, Carmelita… Adolf Hisser aka Joseph Macavity wants to turn France into his "Third Reich", and he will purify France by wiping out _all _of the half-breeds and anyone associated with them…" said Sly sadly. Carmelita stood there mortified. This just could not get any worse. Her boyfriend was cheating on her, she might be falling in love with a thief turned doctor who happens to be a half-breed, she was stuck on the EuroDisney case with a partner who made Bonkers the bobcat look like a competent cop, now she learns that France is about to dragged back to WWII by a maniac mafia boss.

"Well, isn't this a ray of sunshine!" groused Carmelita stiffly as she crossed her arms with a sour look on her face. Sly smiled. Then of all things he started to laugh. Carmelita looked at him strangely. "I think this is finally getting to Cooper, he's cracking." She thought. "Hey, Sly, are you… feeling ok?"

"Yeah… I'm… fine!" he managed to say through his fits of laughter. "It's just…ha ha ha… that… he he he ha… this… whole… ah ha ha ha… thing is… ah ha ha… absolutely… ah ha ha ha…. RIDICULOUS!!!" At first, Carmelita was going to fetch a nurse but then the absurdity of their current situation hit her. She began to giggle feebly and the giggle grew stronger then it wasn't longer before she and Sly were both reeling with laughter. After a few moments both grew serious again.

"But I think we should keep everything we know a secret for now until we are really sure of the situation." said Sly. Carmelita frowned.

"I think Interpol could…"

"Not to be rude Carmelita, but save for you, I do not trust Interpol right now and neither should you." said Sly. Carmelita was about to explode but then she understood, if Macavity had as much influence as she thought he had, it might not be idea to tell anyone.

"Ok, it will be our secret." said Carmelita nodding. Sly nodded as well. Just then a scream echoed out in the hallway. Carmelita bolted out of the room followed closely by Sly. There was a nurse standing outside of Amarianni's room. The young zebra was nearly hysterical. As a bunch of people crowed around her she stuttered out,

"S-s-she's dead." Carmelita looked around for Sly but he had disappeared. A feeling of dread washed through her system. But that did not stop her from noticing a shadow ducking behind the counter. She pulled her shock pistol and slowly made her towards the counter. She slowly walked into the opening and pointed the barrel at the back of a huddled figure.

"Alright pal, turn around with you hands up!" ordered Carmelita. The figure slowly turned around with their hands up. Then she instantly recognized the figure. "Justin?!"

"Hey babe!" said Justin cheekily…

**With Sly…**

"Maybe I am just being paranoid." sighed Sly. His thief senses and parental instincts kicked in a few minutes ago and he had to go check on Desiree. He was almost to her unit when one of the nurses stopped him. He stopped to talk with her although he was growing more worried by the minute.

_Why does it feel like night today?_

_  
Something in here's not right today _

_  
Why am I so uptight today? _

_  
Paranoia's all I got left _

_  
I don't know what stressed me first _

_  
Or how the pressure was fed / But_

_  
I know just what it feels like_

_  
To have a voice in the back of my head _

_  
It's like a face that I hold inside _

_  
A face that awakes when I close my eyes _

_  
A face watches every time I lie _

_  
A face that laughs every time I fall  
(And watches everything)_

_  
So I know that when it's time to sink or swim _

_  
That the face inside is hearing me, Right underneath my skin_

Sly had not been able to sleep well these past few weeks. On top of that things were only growing worse for him and Desiree. But the only thing keeping him going was the thief inside him. That inner strength was keeping him from faltering during the tougher situations. He finally had to promise the young female that they would talk more later as he had somewhere to go. He then took off running down the hall. The thief within him was going berserk inside his head.

"You've grown weak, Cooper! Then you neglect your duties as a Cooper!" it screamed.

"Look, I stopped Clockwerk, rebuilt the family book, and saved the family name. It sounds like I have done enough for the Cooper line." Sly growled back mentally.

"Really? Then what is it about that girl that is so special that it can hold priority over the responsibilities of the Cooper clan?" it accused.

"She is by birth my daughter and she **is **the Cooper clan! It's future! It does not matter if I live, because as long as she lives the Cooper line is in her hands because she is now the last Cooper." He pointed out.

"Well Father John, it is going to take a thief to protect her." The thief said smugly.

"I know." Sly mumbled aloud.

_It's like I'm, Paranoid lookin' over my back_

_  
It's like a, Whirlwind inside of my head _

_  
It's like I, Can't stop what I'm hearing within _

_  
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin_

Rochelle tiptoed down the hallway. She could not believe she was doing this. She was going to kidnap a child but she had no choice if she didn't Macavity was going to kill her father and fiancé. Justin told her so. He was her only friend in this place. Carmelita was to busy being a hard ass to care. She was probably cold hearted like everyone said she was. As she always said, "Gossip never lies." But she still did not want to kidnap the kid. It might be dangerous to her health since she was already in a hospital. That meant that something was wrong with the girl already. She stood in front of the door for a moment. "It's for Daddy and Jacob." She tried to reassure herself. "But that girl could die…" Doubt set in again along with guilt. "No, I got to. For papa."

"Got to do what?" asked a obviously male voice. Rochelle froze she slowly reached for her shock pistol.

"Go… to the store…" she lied. She whipped out her shock pistol and fired. If he had been any farther away she probably would have missed but the shot had nailed him in chest. The blast sent him flying through the air and into the wall. Rochelle acted quickly and entered the room holding the girl and slammed it behind her and locked it.

_I know I've got a face in me _

_  
Points out all my mistakes to me _

_  
You've got a face on the inside too and _

_  
Your paranoia's probably worse _

_  
I don't know what set me off first but I know what I can't stand _

_  
Everybody acts like the fact of the matter is_

_  
I can't add up to what you can _

Carmelita growled and pulled Justin to his feet. Of all the people Carmelita wanted to see, Justin showed up. Carmelita was so angry with him that she could have ripped his head off. But she was in public and in the middle of a death scene so could not. But just as she was about to tell him off, a pager went off on her hip.

"What the—?" she started then she saw the words: SC 911. "Cooper!" she growled. But she took off towards the stairs and the pediatric unit…

_But everybody has a face that they hold inside_

_  
A face that awakes when they close their eyes_

_  
A face watches every time they lie _

_  
A face that laughs every time they fall  
(And watches everything)_

_  
So you know that when it's time to sink or swim _

_  
That the face inside is watching you too, Right inside your skin_

Sly managed to stand on wobbly legs. He stumbled over to the door and shouted through it,

"What are going to do to my daughter?" There was no answer. The nurse he had seen earlier came rushing into the unit.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"There is a woman in there with my child! And she is no nurse. A patient downstairs just turned up dead, too," said Sly the frustration was evident in his voice.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"Do you have a key to this door?" he asked his voice tired and hopeful.

"Yeah. Right here," said the nurse. She pulled out a huge ring of keys and sorted through them until she found the one she was looking for. She was about to put it into the keyhole when Sly stopped her.

"Slow," he said and then put a finger to his lips. She nodded understanding.

_It's like I'm, Paranoid lookin' over my back  
It's like a, Whirlwind inside of my head  
It's like I , Can't stop what I'm hearing within  
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin  
I feel the light betray me_

Rochelle was really feeling guilty now as she stared at the little fox child lying on the bed. She was so small and weak looking. She was hooked to all of these machines. Her maternal instincts would not let her touch that child. She began to pull at her blonde hair out of desperation. Her brown eyes were full of tears. She whirled around pointed her shock pistol at the nurse that had entered the room.

"I got to check her vitals." Said the zebra whose nametag read: Melanie.

"Oh, okay." said Rochelle. "Oh, man," she thought, "I can't get her out of here now!" She gave a gasp as two strong arms wrapped around her pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled against her captor to no avail. The nurse that had been checking the child's vitals came over and wedged the shock pistol from her hands. Then she pointed it back Rochelle and her captor. "Oh crap, can this get any worse?!" thought Rochelle.

_It's like I, Can't stop what I'm hearing within  
It's likeI, Can't stop what I'm hearing within_

Sly was surprisingly calm about the entire situation. He sighed. The nurse growled at Rochelle,

"You screwed up! You could not even grab a girl that was unconscious!"

"Hey! I would gladly like to let you two get back to your verbal fight but I just want to know one thing: What do you want with my sick daughter?" asked Sly emphasizing each word of the question.

"Macavity requires someone with your skills. Your daughter would be perfect to make sure to you don't double cross him." She half boasted. "So, our theory was correct." thought Sly. But he was cornered and he knew it. He did not need to make Melanie mad because he did not want a stray shot to hit his daughter. Then he heard soft footsteps approaching. He knew that sound like the back of his hand. He leaned down and whispered in Rochelle's ear,

"When I say so, duck, ok?" She nodded slowly. He listened to the footsteps get closer and stop. Then he listened to a familiar gasp and then the whir of a shock pistol could be heard. "You ready?" Rochelle nodded again. He listened to the sound get louder then he threw his weight into Rochelle and shouted, "Duck!" Melanie did not have time to react before Carmelita's shock pistol round slammed into her chest. The zebra woman let out a yelp of pain as electricity zipped through her body. She then slumped to the floor unconscious. Sly breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up off of Rochelle. Then Rochelle, before either Sly or Carmelita could react, darted for the discarded shock pistol that Melanie had been using and fired off two rounds that slammed into Sly's chest.

It was as if Carmelita had fallen into a nightmare. She watched as Sly flew back into a wall followed by a sickening snap. Sly crumpled to the floor without a sound. Carmelita's pistol was pointed at her partner before Carmelita could think about it. A primal anger boiled inside Carmelita. All she could see was Rochelle with her pistol pointed at her and the image of Sly hitting that wall and the snap that followed played over and over in her mind. Rochelle was saying something but Carmelita could not hear what. She watched as Rochelle prepared to pull the trigger…

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Well that's all folks! Read and review plz! Here's a taste of chapter 11:

… "Carmelita, there is one more thing though," said Sly slowly. Carmelita looked into his eyes and nodded that she was listening. "Desiree's and your mitochondrial DNA match." Carmelita was confused. She knew that mitochondria had their own DNA from her time on the forensics team during a case but she had no idea what Sly was saying meant. He must have noticed that she was stumped because he supplied an answer. "That means that somehow you and Desiree are sisters **or** you **are **Desiree's mother…" …


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys! Sorry it is taking so long! But here is the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, and Adolf Hisser belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 11**

Rochelle put pressure to the trigger. But Carmelita was faster; she squeezed off three shots in less than a minute. Rochelle twisted around and was blown off of her feet as three shots slammed into her. She fell over on top of Melanie in a heap. Carmelita's trigger finger was trembling on the trigger as she fought to subdue her anger. She was about to squeeze off another round when a gentle hand touched her shoulder. She turned to see a harried Sly behind her barely standing. His clothes were tattered and singed. He was hunched over partly and covered in bruises. He looked tired. She ignored everything else as she turned around and flung herself into his arms. He wobbled a bit but hugged her back. Carmelita stayed in his arms a moment before looking into his beautiful eyes. Then as her emotions surged she leaned forward and he toward her. Then they lips brushed and then met in a fierce kiss. Carmelita pulled away panting still high from the kiss and unaware that someone was watching…

**In the Hospital Lobby…**

Jorge Fox entered the hospital, having been called in on a murder. One of their patients was found dead that afternoon. He was sent in by request. That meant that Macavity had killed off another innocent person. Jorge was a B.I.A agent but he used to work in the homicide department back when he worked for Interpol. Macavity only called him in when there was work to be done or dirty work to clean up. He was here to arrest Justin Whittaker on charges of being a dirty cop. Jorge laughed at that notion. A dirty cop arresting a dirty cop it was dirty joke. Once the desk attendant waved him back he continued on his errand. The ICU unit was in a panic. Doctors rushing here and there, nurses shuffling about in unordered clusters. Justin was standing back and admiring the chaos he created. Just like all the rest of those heartless bastards. They feed off the pain and destruction of others without an ounce of remorse. They used whomever they want, however they wanted just like Jorge, they were forcing him to abandon his moral to protect his daughter. He was sacking innocent cops and helping guilty ones keep their jobs.

He saw his target was standing near his daughter and another doctor. Carmelita had two battered women cuffed and sitting down in front of her. She had the look of an extremely agitated woman who had been wronged one too many times. The doctor himself looked like he could use a doctor. Jorge put on his game face and strolled over with purpose.

"D-D-Daddy?" Carmelita stuttered surprised. Jorge nodded and spoke,

"Carmelita, don't take this to heart, dear, but this man is a fake." Carmelita looked horrified and worked her mouth as if she was trying to say something. The doctor stiffened slightly. Jorge noted their strange behavior and Justin's smug smirk. He was going enjoy ripping that smirk from his face. "This _weasel_ is no _cop_." Justin's mouth dropped until he wore a look of pure disbelief. "When the patient is examined you will find that she was killed another way. Not inject with air like it was set up to be." Carmelita brightened considerably and said,

"Take him." Justin sputtered in outrage,

"Me? He's a thief! That's Sly Cooper! He's hiding out!" Then surprising Carmelita and everyone else Sly stepped forward and said in a mix of German and broken English,

"Ich entschuldige mich für unterbrechend… vut I have vust come to vis country, although I do knov of this 'Sly' Cooper. I can promise you my duzfreund, vat I am not him." Jorge nodded empathically, knowing full well what it felt like to be a foreigner in a strange country.

"Fear not, good doctor. My quarrel is not with you but with this scoundrel that tried to deflower my daughter rather than love her!" Jorge said setting his stone gaze on the now less confident Justin.

"SO, what is my crime then… not spoiling the little b—" Justin began to sneer before he was promptly shut-up by a resounding punch to his jaw from Carmelita. The hospital had grown so quiet now that when his jaw snapped from the sheer force of the blow it sounded like a gunshot. Justin headed was whipped to the side and he dropped to his knees as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He then slumped over onto the floor unconscious. His lower jaw hung limply open at an odd angle like a door that had been broken off part of its hinges.

"No, your crime is being unfaithful." She groused before turning around, pulling the two women to their feet, and shoving them into Jorge's surprised arms. "Take them, Rochelle is a dirty cop too, she tried to kidnap a pediatric patient upstairs while we were distracted by Amarianni's death. But the doctor here happened to be in the area and noticed Rochelle's strange behavior. When he confronted her she fired her weapon and a couple of rounds got him good. Then someone came and alerted me to the problem upstairs. A fight in the patient's room ensued when I arrived but thankfully the child wasn't hurt."

Jorge was clearly puzzled. "What would Macavity want with a child? A sick child at that? Unless, that doctor really is Sly Cooper…" A rumor had been spreading through the underground that after destroying the Clockwerk parts, Sly Cooper had retired from being a thief, which was almost 2 years ago. Could that child be his? If she is, Dios, have mercy on them both. But the question still remained was that doctor really Sly Cooper wearing a disguise or was he just a plain German doctor? But his police instincts were screaming at him that the earlier notion was the correct one but he would hold off until he was sure. He rounded up his catches and left the Hospital…

**At Macavity's Lab…**

Adolf was thoroughly pleased with himself. His greatest weapon was complete. The Queen Hornet was now an evolved hybrid. When standing she reached an incredible 7 feet tall. Her pinchers measured about a foot in length and so did her stinger. Both of these killing instruments were retractable. Her pinchers were mainly used for the tearing of her food and her stinger contained a substance similar to MDMA or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine commonly known as ecstasy, placed in her purposefully by Hisser for experimental use on potential soldiers. But although menacing she was quite an alluring sight. Her body was mostly humanoid now. Her exoskeleton had twisted and shrunk forming Amazon like orange colored armor. She stood on two muscular legs and bore four arms. Her skin was scaly, black, and thick like shoe leather but felt as smooth as a pearl. Her antennas laid down her back like two thick braids. Her wings lay underneath them against her back. They were white and had a span of four feet. Her eyes were huge and yellow she had a small nose and mouth. At the moment she was tied down for the safety of Hisser and his workers. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she looked around at her surroundings.

"Why does everything look so strange?" she asked in soft buzzing voice that clung to the silence like a fly to a spider's web. "Where is my colony? My mountains? Why have you taken me from my ancestral home?"

"Patience, my lovely creature, all will be explained in good time." soothed Macavity as he nodded to an attendant that promptly stuck a syringe sedative into the insect's arm putting her to sleep. "But… now is not the time…" He began to laugh manically…

**At Nautica's compound the next day…**

"Did you make sure that Cooper would not be implicated for the crime?" asked Nautica. The dingo nodded. "Good." She continued brushing her long red hair at her vanity while gazing at her attendant in the mirror.

"Should we move on to the next part of the plan?" he asked.

"Yes, and call my lawyer and inform him of the "unfortunate" turn of events." She said as she began to hum a haunting tune. The attendant nodded and left the room noiselessly. She laughed quietly to herself. "Sly, baby, you _will _be mine soon…"…

**Sly's Apartment the same day…**

Sly had been given some time off for him to recover from the event in Desiree's room. He had not been seriously injured and was used to surviving blasts from a shock pistol, thanks to Carmelita. But that did not keep him from bruising and being sore. So as he lay resting on a couch in his apartment, he racked his brain trying to decide whether or not he wanted to get the gang involved. But he finally decided that he had to take out Macavity before Macavity took his daughter. He opened the laptop that was resting upon his lap and began typing furiously. He ordered two plane tickets, one under each of Bentley and Murray's aliases. The planes were set to take off that afternoon. He then wrote a small note to each of them expressing that there was an emergency and that he needed them ASAP. He then got up slowly after placing his laptop on the opposite side of the couch. He winced in pain as his many bruises reminded him of their presence by stinging unmercifully. He moaned but stood on uneasy legs anyway. He slowly made his way to the telephone laying on his computer desk. He picked it up and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello, Room 305, Carmelita Fox speaking." Said saucily accented voice Sly knew too well.

"Hola, mi senorita bonita." He replied cleverly.

"Oh… Cooper, how many times do I have to tell you to quit flirting?" chided Carmelita with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Oh, my dear, you should learn to practice what you preach…" he shot back. Finally, there was laughter on the other end. Carmelita offered to stay and look after Desiree while Sly recuperated at home. This gave him real peace of mind.

"I suppose you did not just call me to flirt did you… and Desiree is fine, she is still sleeping soundly. But it won't be long before she is awake again. My she is a really strong one." Carmelita said.

"Yes, that is true, sometimes she is too strong… But that is not why I called you. Did you give a sample of blood to see if you would be a match for Desiree's operation?" asked Sly.

"Ummm… yeah, earlier this morning… why?" she asked curiosity lining her voice.

"Well do you remember all that information that was given to me by Amarianni Vencenitti before she turned up dead?" he asked.

"umm… sí." She replied.

"Well she was signed up to be a organ donor… and…" he stopped short.

"And…"

"She left a legal document designating my daughter to receive her heart." He finally admitted. There was silence on the other end for a moment.

"You did not get to see the body before it went to the morgue, did you?" asked Carmelita. Sly hesitated for a moment before replying,

"No, I did not, why?"

"I'm sorry, Sly…" she said. Sly held his breath because he new that bad news was about to come. When ever Carmelita called him by his name something was in the process of going wrong or something was going to go wrong. Then she said, "Her rib cage was cut open and her heart was gone…"

"W-W-Wha?" Sly sputtered. This just could not be happening… the only chance his daughter had at living had been stolen. He began to hyperventilate on the phone. "Hold… on… a… second…"He laid the phone down gently on the countertop and took a few steadying breaths before picking it back up and asking, "Do they have any idea who did it?"

"Well, from what my dad told me, Justin was working for Macavity and he guessed that Justin committed the murder on his employer's behalf." Carmelita answered with uncertainty. He could practically see her shrugging her shoulders on the other end of the line. But something about that story did not seem to fit right.

"Really, something about that does not seem to fit right," he admitted.

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" She agreed, "something seems fishy to me, too."

"So," he said after a moment of thought, "how would you catch a thief?"

"Excuse me… but you are asking the wrong person… I never caught _you_ remember? But if you have to have an answer, my best guess is that you get a better thief." She said.

"I thought you would say that." Sly said with sly smile as he eyed as his cane sitting in the umbrella holder…

**A few hours in a Paris Airport…**

Bentley Turtle wheeled into the busy throng of pedestrians and began to look for his friend. Because of his lack of height, he had trouble seeing over people's heads. Then he felt some began to steer his wheelchair from behind.

"Wha…?" Then a familiar masculine voice said,

"Long time no see, Bentley." Bentley craned his neck to see who was behind him and grinned when he saw Sly standing behind him smiling. But he almost choked when he saw that Sly was not really in a disguise just a plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He started to complain but Sly motioned for him to remain quiet and said, "Come Murray's waiting." Then he pushed him out on to the street where Murray was waiting for them at a crosswalk. Sly joined him and they exchanged soft greetings as they waited for the signal to walk. An elephant standing with them turned and seemed to recognize Sly and Bentley began to sweat.

"Excuse me, sir. But you look familiar to me." He asked his French accent heavy. "Do you work at a hospital?"

"Yes, I do. Do I know you?" Sly asked trying to figure out who this man was.

"I think so, the name is Francis Devin." He said.

"Devin? Oh, how is your heart?" asked Sly as recognized the millionaire who's triple bypass surgery he had preformed about six months ago.

"It's doing well. How is your pretty daughter? I noticed that she was not in your wake." asked the man with genuine concern.

"She's not doing so well, I am afraid she going to need an operation soon." said Sly sadly. Bentley and Murray stared open-mouthed. Bentley always thought that Sly having a daughter was just a joke. But apparently it wasn't and she was in trouble. "Is this why he called us over?" thought Bentley. The light changed and they headed across the street. When they reached the other side the elephant turned around and extended the briefcase he was carrying to a stunned Sly.

"Take this, it is the last payment from my last transaction in Switzerland. There is 500,000 dollars in American money in here. It's the least I can do since you saved my life." said the elephant.

"But sir—" Sly started.

"No, please, take it. It is pocket change to me. Use it how you see fit to help your daughter." Devin said as he took Sly's hand and placed the case's handle in it. Then turned and walked away. Now, Bentley recognized the elephant, he was the Francis Devin, the world's richest blue blood millionaire. (A/N: "blue blood" refers to "old" or inherited money. Like the money you would get from a rich and deceased relative.) Sly sighed and continued pushing the wheelchair towards his apartment…

**At Paris Memorial Hospital…**

"Ms. Carmelita, do you like my father?" asked Desiree in a soft voice. Carmelita started. But she took a breath and asked,

"What would make you ask that?"

"I saw you kissing him and _everybody _knows that when a guy and girl like each other they kiss, duh." answered Desiree in a childish matter of fact voice. Carmelita laughed and gave in,

"Ok, maybe… a little bit."

"Just a _little _bit?"

"Ok, maybe I like him a lot…"

"Just _a lot_?"

"Ok, niña, stop pushing the maybes." Carmelita scolded Desiree before tickling her tummy. But Carmelita couldn't help but wonder if she just _liked _Sly or if it was something more…

**In the Bloodwork Lab…**

"Marie, look at this," squeaked Amie. The tarantula woman moved over to where the field mouse running the blood tests was working. Although Marie could eat her if she wanted, Amie did not fear the spider-woman. She was actually very soft hearted.

"What is it, Amie?" she asked peering over the mouse at the sample.

"The child's DNA and Fox's DNA match in a strange way…" said the young tech. Marie gently nudged the mouse out of the way and peered into the microscope. She gasped.

"Get me doctor Cooper on the phone now!" she ordered…

**At Sly's Apartment…**

Murray was impressed. Sly's apartment was clean and had plenty of room to comfortably house two people. For someone who worked a lot he sure managed to get things done.

"Sorry for calling you guys out here on such short notice but I have a problem…" said Sly and then proceeded to fill his two best friends in own what had happened during their two-year absence. Bentley was staring comically ahead with his mouth agape. Sly was certainly in a mess and had not been even trying to get into trouble. But once again trouble seemed to have found him.

"So, what are we here for?" Bentley asked, although he had a sneaky suspicion why.

"As I told you before, Macavity is after my daughter and me. But that is the least of my worries." said Sly, surprising Bentley once again.

"Huh? Then what is Sly?" he asked clearly puzzled.

"Before Amarrianni Vencinette died, I agreed to protect her daughter, and unbeknownst to me until later she left behind a note saying that her heart must be used for Desiree's surgery. But when she was killed, someone stole Amarrianni's heart and my daughter needs that transplant within the next two weeks." He said his frustration and agitation clearly evident.

"And…" Bentley insisted. Sly reached down and picked up the briefcase, laying it on the table between them, and opened it facing Bentley.

"And I want you to take half of this and find out whatever you can about Joseph Macavity and Amarrianni. I want the whole nine yards: friends, enemies, family, hangouts, I want it all. Then whatever money is left; use it to buy whatever you think we would need to get to our objective. Understood? Murray, you take the other half and find us some transportation. I am not going to wait around for my daughter die _or _fall into the hands of a Hitler wannabe!" he growled. Bentley and Murray nodded affirming their willingness to help. Sly nodded back, glad to have his friends back in Paris. Then the phone rang. He turned and answered it, "Hello?" His jaw dropped. "Are you sure?… Give me five minutes." He hung up the phone. "That was the hospital," Sly said his voice severely quiet. Bentley's heart sped up and his stomach plummeted. "Please don't me the first Cooper of this millennium has died… not yet," he thought.

"Is she alright?" Bentley asked. Sly nodded. Bentley breathed a sigh of relief.

"Something has come up at the lab and they asked me to come and look at it. I'll be back after while, make yourselves at home." Sly said as he headed for the door…

**About an hour later in Desiree's room…**

"Come in," said Carmelita. Sly stepped in with a pensive stare upon his features. But he face morphed into a smile as his eyes fell on Desiree as she squeaked,

"Hello, daddy!" Sly walked over and hugged her tightly. The vixen's tail was wagging immensely belaying her happiness at seeing her father. They let each other go and began to have a small father to daughter talk, which, included the adoption of little Aurora Vencinette. Then Sly turned to Carmelita and motioned for her to meet him outside. She nodded and moved outside.

"I'll be back in a second, sweetheart." He said kissing her nose and following Carmelita out into the hall. He led Carmelita back to an open office and shut the door. He stared at Carmelita for a moment. This made Carmelita very uncomfortable.

"Well…" she said after a few moments of intense silence.

"So, do your parents know about that child I helped you give birth to about seven years ago?" He asked. Carmelita felt a lump form in her throat. She tried to speak but her nerves riddled her voice useless. Guilt, shame, anger, and hurt all mingled together inside her.

"I—well, er…no…" said Carmelita. Sly lifted an eyebrow. Carmelita gulped as she felt the impending tears begin to well up in her eyes. But again her pride got in the way.

"Oh no, you are not going to cry here, you are—" started her police side but Carmelita interrupted,

"A tired worn down vixen that has tried to take on too much by herself! Look what it has done for me! I am constantly an emotional time bomb about to blow, I am the cause of my daughter's death, and I couldn't even catch Sly Cooper!"

"But what about your 99 arrest record you obtained by yourself, huh? Does that count for anything?" her cop side argued.

"Yes and no. That is just a number that represents my hard work, I am proud of that. But I am also able to admit that even _I _need help sometime… I mean because of my pride I was too ashamed to call for help, admit that I was raped by a close relative of a turkey baster, and got pregnant. So, I tried to get my daughter out by myself I ended up killing her!"

"Well, it's not like partners are a help… remember Neyla?" Carmelita's insides boiled at the name.

"No… partners are fine, when you choose the right one. But that was not my point, when I lost my little girl… I realized that my pride had cost something I loved!" moaned Carmelita. Sly watched Carmelita with interest as many emotions passed her face again. Then finally the tears broke free and began their dance down the side of her face.

"Mi niña…"she sobbed. "She… died." The shocked look on Sly's face looked absolutely comical. But because of the gravity of the situation no one laughed.

"Died? Who told you that?" he asked as moved forward to comfort the woman. She accepted his embrace and began to retell the painful ordeal the cost her daughter's life. It was too much to see Sly's pitying eyes full of tears. "Carmelita… I think someone played a cruel joke on you…"

"What?" gasped Carmelita. Sly smiled slightly.

"I was in my apartment when I get a call from our technicians working on your blood work," said Sly, "You are a good match for Desiree's operation."

"Okay," Carmelita managed to murmur through her confusion. "But what does that have to do with—" He raised a hand to stop her and sighed loudly. Sly was extremely nervous right at the moment. He was about to drop a bombshell on Carmelita and her reaction would be unpredictable. Sly wasn't so much concerned for what would happen to him but he was worried about Desiree. She craved love and attention from a motherly figure and the first one to appear wanted to tear their family apart. Sly was beginning to believe that Desiree's supposed "mother" wasn't her mother at all. "But it is now or never…" thought Sly.

"Carmelita, there is one more thing though," said Sly slowly. Carmelita looked into his eyes and nodded that she was listening. "Desiree's and your mitochondrial DNA match." Carmelita was confused. She knew that mitochondria had their own DNA from her time on the forensics team during a case but she had no idea what Sly was saying meant. He must have noticed that she was stumped because he supplied an answer. "That means that somehow you and Desiree are sisters **or** you **are **Desiree's mother…"

"Wha…?" she squeaked blinking. Her head was swimming in circles. Was he implying that Desiree was her daughter?

"But we aren't very sure which one you fit." He said, then his voice became soft, "Would you mind taking a maternity test?" Carmelita was trying to settle her nerves. If she took the test and it came back positive, Desiree would be a Fox and her _illegitimate _child… but her daughter would be alive and she would have her little girl again… but it would be the daughter of a criminal. Carmelita looked at Sly, the world-renowned thief who gave up all he knew for the sake of his daughter, the man who was willing to give up his own freedom to make sure his buddies went free, and that _her _name was cleared. He was only a criminal by a loop-poled law. As a man, he was a dream, loyal, caring, faithful, strong, and honest… There was no doubting that underneath that criminal label lay a very wonderful human being. Someone that she… loved. Finally, she said,

"I'll take the test, now if I can…" Sly smiled. He nodded and said,

"You sure?" She nodded,

"Yes, if I am Desiree's mother, I will have chance to make things right with her…" Sly smiled and hugged her. Just then a slightly feminine cough caught the hesitant lovers' attention. Carmelita's eyes grew huge and her heart skipped a beat. "C-C-Carmen?" she stuttered. In the doorway stood Carmelita's older sister, Captain Carmen Fox. And she had her shock pistol pointed at Sly.

"Hands up, Criminal…" she growled…

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That's it! Sorry it took so long! Well please don't hesitant to leave a review! Here's a snippet of chapter 12:

"Sly you will not believe this, I intercepted an email from Nautica… she is pretending to be Desiree's mother…" screeched Bentley. "She's planning on taking Desiree from you during the custody hearing!"…

http://msnbc.


	12. Chapter 12

Hi guys! I am cranking this out as fast as I can! I am really excited about the fan base for this story! But anyway I had finals and stuff to finish before the end of the semester, which cut my writing time! Well, I am going to stop talking now and write. One more note, you might want reread the end of chapter 11 to refresh your memory on the current event taking place.

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, and Adolf Hisser belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro. Also, the half of the song "We are" belongs to Ana Johnson.

**Chapter 12**

Sly slowly began to back away from Carmelita with his hands in the air, wanting no further confrontation with the Interpol officer. Carmelita on the other hand, began to slowly advance towards her sister purposefully keeping her body between her sister's Shock Pistol and Sly. Carmelita was staring straight into the eyes of her older sister. Both of the deep orbs on were fire with anger. As she came to stop directly in front of her sister she swallowed back a lump in her throat and asked in a surprisingly calm voice,

"Hola hermana, what brings you here?" Carmen gave her younger sister a sardonic smile and replies in the same tone of voice,

"Este… I get a call from an anonymous tipper, who says that he knows the current location of the notorious Master Thief, Sly Cooper," She continues on with her voice rising and becoming more strained with barely contained rage with each word, "I go to find you and tell you about the tip since it was your case and learned from your secretary that you already here. So, I head over here to give you some back up and I walk in to find you in his arms!" Carmen was now waving the gun around and shaking from head to toe. Carmelita began to try and explain the situation to her older sister while trying to placate her. Their voices started out as harsh whispers and grew into a tumult of high pitched strained yelling, their English melted into their native Spanish and the flurry of irate words became faster—too fast for Sly to completely understand. He happened to notice that the two sisters bickering was beginning to attract attention. He moved slowly around the two shouting women and poked his head around the opening with his hands still raised. A young nurse's assistant came to the door inquiring about the argument and Sly played it off like the two sisters were bickering over the healthcare of a family member. The nurse's assistant asked if security needed to be called in and Sly said it would not be necessary. Then sent the young man back to his work. Sly then maneuvered the door closed with his hip. Sly sighed weary, his head was beginning to ache and his arms were growing numb. Finally he stepped behind the women and said,

"Excuse me, excuse me… EXCUSE ME!" Both women stopped completely startled and stared at Sly. "I am sorry to interrupt the family moment here but can I please put my arms down, now?!" Carmelita grumbled a yes and Sly slowly started to bring his hands down when Carmen brought her weapon around to point into his belly and his hands shot back up by reflex. Carmen began to grill Sly about his criminal record and saying that he was a lousy person by preying on Carmelita and constantly double-crossing her for his own gains. With every word Sly grew angrier. He was sick and tired of people stereotyping and assuming they knew everything about him. He was also worn out by the people that portraying him as an arrogant acrobat with no brains when in fact he had plenty. He did not want the title of the gang's genius that title belonged to Bentley and no one deserved it more. But he was sick and tired of having his worth as a living being decreased by ignorant people. He growled angrily then surprised himself and the Fox sisters by snatching the Shock Pistol from Carmen and flinging it across the room. "Alright now that it is enough! I have had it!" he shouted.

"Sly—I –- what…" started Carmelita rattled by his outburst.

"I am sick and tired of people telling me what I am like when they don't know a damn thing about me!" Sly shouted. His breathing was loud and ragged. "I am tired of hearing people talk about what a lowly person I am without any real proof to back it up! I have been called and accused of many things but Mrs. Fox; you have said the worst one yet! I have _never _and will _never _"prey" on Carmelita for my own gain! If I wanted to do that I could have left her locked up in Russia! I could have left her in the grasp of the Contessa back in Prague and let the witch brainwash her! But no! I fought against supernatural odds and all of Interpol to free her! But that means nothing to you right …? No… just clearing the case does… the family honor will be restored once more and all is right in the world!" his voice heavily dripping with sarcasm. "Is that not right, Captain? Well…?" His accusatory stare was too much for Carmelita to bear even though it was not directed at her. It stung in her heart, forcing her to look at the ground in shame because he had defined her in complete, disgusting detail! She did want her arrest record back at 100 and she did want the respect back from her family but no matter how you looked at it, she was still pretty selfish compared to Sly. She winced as her sister's voice cut the through the tension thickened air like the fangs she was probably brandishing at Sly,

"How dare you accuse me of being so… so…"

"So low? Selfish? Blind?" snapped Sly. Carmen blinked rapidly. Carmelita could literally see her sister reeling from Sly's verbal swings. Carmen was mentally devastated from the angry onslaught Cooper had unleashed. Carmen, too, was feeling the sting of self- incriminating reality. But before she could reply, the phone rang. Sly eyed Carmen and then went to answer the obnoxious device. "Hello?" Sly's face softened and he let out a weary sigh. He exchanged a few words with the person on the other end of the line. He put the receiver back in its cradle and turned to leave. Just as he was about to walk through the door Carmen growled,

"Where do you think you are going?"

"To check on a patient, I _am _a doctor, after all." He replied sarcastically.

"Really?" she grumbled with a smirk.

"Yes, I would not be working here if I weren't and two I am legit, okay? Ask Carmelita, I retired years ago…" he said as he walked out the door and closed it behind him. Carmen stared ahead stunned to silence. Carmelita walked up behind Carmen. Her older sister turned to face her and spoke in a soft voice,

"He had no right to…"

"Tell us what we needed to hear? Trust me, Carmen, having your pride beaten up by someone else is better then having it destroy something you love…" whispered Carmelita. Carmen looked over her sister slowly and noticed that Carmelita had changed. Her eyes no longer held that hard, naïve fire but the glow of wisdom that comes to a woman after she crosses the threshold of womanhood. Silently Carmen wondered what had changed her sister in such way. Carmen studied her sister some more and saw that she stood tall with responsibility rather than pride. "There is so much that I need to tell you, hermana, things I should have said a long time ago. For starters I am a mother or was…" Carmelita then proceeded to admit her shortcomings to her sister…

**Meanwhile in Desiree's room…**

The male nurse was trying in vain to change the needle in Desiree's arm but the young vixen refused to let him stick her again. Just as the nurse was about to give up, Sly walked into the room. Desiree smiled slightly as he came to her side. He gently caressed the side of her face as he spoke,

"Why won't you let the nurse change you needle?"

"Because it hurts…" she wailed. Sly sighed heavily because she had so much inner strength and spunk; sometimes he forgot that she was still just a child.

"I'm sorry, it hurts but we need to change the needle, okay? I'll hold you and it will be over it in a minute, I promise." Sly said as he held her to his body. He protected the rest her body but left her arm exposed. She buried her face in her father's chest and squeezed her eyes shut. She gave weak yelp as the needle entered her arm but not another sound. The nurse finished taping down the IV, patted her hand, and left. Sly stayed with Desiree a little longer and then went back downstairs to continue his discussion with Carmelita but as he neared the door, he began to pick up bits and pieces of the conversation.

**Inside the Office…**

"Carmelita, you are talking nonsense!" Carmen insisted. Despite what was said, Carmen refused to believe it. Her sister had been raped by science, the baby believed to be dead, and the father was Sly Cooper! A girl could only take so much at one time. But on top of that Carmelita blamed herself for all of her troubles! Which Carmen found inexcusable. "Pero hermana, I don't understand how any of this can be your fault…" Carmelita just shook her head.

_See the devil on the doorstep now (my oh my)_

_Telling__everybody oh just how to live their lives_

_Sliding down the information highway_

_Buying in just like a bunch of fools_

_Time is ticking and we can't go back (my oh my)_

"But it is… We go own about our lives as captives to the law." said Carmelita slowly. "We assume that everyone will do what they are suppose to do and if not, the law would punish them for it. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, it protects innocent people but the law is too easy to manipulate… Many criminals get off on small technicalities and sometimes even innocent people are tried over trivial things! Sister, the law is vulnerable and I lived by that code thus making me vulnerable. "

_What about the world today_

_What about the place that we call home_

_We've never been so many_

_And we've never been so alone_

"I swore to uphold the law and thus isolated myself from everyone else. Which, is something I should not done… I am proud to be a protector of the people but who protects us, Carmen?" asked Carmelita eyeing Carmen. Carmen became thoughtful. Her younger sister had a point but usually policemen and women were taught to protect themselves.

"Hermana," tried Carmen slowly, "We protect ourselves… all the training…"

"Ourselves?" scoffed Carmelita. "That is dangerous, hermana, as I have learned. We can only do so much and we cannot protect others and ourselves! Something has to give…unless…"

_[Chorus_

_You keep watching from your picket fence_

_You keep talking but it makes no sense_

_You say we're not responsible _

_But we are, we are_

_You wash your hands and come out clean_

_Fail to recognize the enemies within_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are, we are, we are, we are_

"Unless…?" urged Carmen.

"Someone else is willing to protect you…" said Carmelita her thoughts drifting off towards a certain raccoon who had risked his life on more than one occasion to save hers. Carmen had sneaky suspicion of who her sister was thinking of and it made her even angrier. That raccoon… He wormed his way into her sister's mind with his stupid logic! But then again, this was the first time she had witnessed Carmelita looking at a situation without her black vs. white mentality. Wait… what was she thinking? Man, in just a few moments the raccoon had crawled into her mind, too. "I mean I had the answer in front of me the entire time but I ran back to that sex addicted weasel, who has almost slept with every woman in Interpol… but do you know what the sad thing is Carmen? I knew it…" Carmelita's voice broke and she started to cry for the second time that day but continued to talk, "My intuition was telling me something was up but I refused to believe it! I believed that Justin was a good man because he was a cop! That same logic always screwed me over, Carmen, but not anymore!" proclaimed Carmelita in a hardened voice, her eyes ablaze with passion, and her tail whipping back and forth in agitation.

_One step forward making two steps back (my oh my)_

_Riding piggy on the bad boys back for life_

_Lining up for the grand illusion_

_No answers for no questions asked_

_Lining up for the execution_

_Without knowing why_

"Carmelita this new mentality will lead to your downfall! I can feel it!" warned Carmen. Carmelita just smiled sadly.

"Well Carmen, I will be right back where I started then, huh? Lo siento, hermana but this is something I have to fix. I am sorry if it will disappoint mama and papa but I must do this for the sake of my own sanity. I have to know if my baby is still alive. " Carmen just shook her head.

_[Chorus_

_You keep watching from your picket fence_

_You keep talking but it makes no sense_

_You say we're not responsible _

_But we are, we are_

_You wash your hands and come out clean_

_Fail to recognize the enemies within_

_You say we're not responsible_

_But we are, we are, we are, we are…_

"I have to Carmen, this nightmare… it must just become a memory… a distant one. Sly says the lab work from my blood seems to suggest that I am somehow related to Desiree…"

"Desiree? Who is Desiree?" asked Carmen, her confusion lucid.

"Desiree, is Cooper's daughter…" Carmelita started but could not finish. Carmen's eyes widened in astonishment then narrowed.

"No… you think that…" Carmen growled. Carmelita held up her paw to silence her sister and simply said,

"Ven." Carmen proceeded to follow her younger sister out the room…

**Outside…**

Sly bolted into the next room to evade Carmelita and her sister as they exited the office. The two sisters turned the corner and disappeared down the next corridor. Sly made his way back to his office and slowly shut the door. He slowly started to shake his head and sighed as he walked back over to his desk. "What a mess my life has become…" he thought. "Man, it was easier back when I was a thief… wait what I am I thinking! Being a thief is what got me into this mess! But I am a thief none the less…" Sly gave up the mental warfare as he sat down at his desk once more. He put his head down on the desk intending to just to rest for a few when moments when a voice taunted him awake,

"Wake up, you lazy bum…" Sly instantly sat up. He blinked once then twice. What he saw made him second-guess his sanity. There was a younger version of him standing across the desk from him. He was even dressed in his old thieving outfit complete with the red backpack.

"What?" exclaimed Sly as he slowly stood up to confront his younger self. The younger raccoon deftly threw his cane at Sly and Sly instantly brought his hand up to catch it. When he looked at himself he was dressed in his own version of his old thieving attire from the Clockwerk Parts caper. "I don't understand what is going on here…" The young Sly just shook his head and pointed at the door. Sly frowned in confusion. The younger Sly walked over to the door and opened it then looked back expectantly at Sly. There was nothing beyond the door but darkness, a thick black void. Sly slowly walked around the desk and to the door. He looked back to his younger self and the smaller raccoon nodded. Sly gathered his courage and stepped through the door expecting to fall. But he was gratefully surprised to find there was something solid beneath his feet. The younger raccoon followed closing the door behind him. The young Sly continued walking forward until he reached a certain point in the middle of the void. Then he made motions as if he were going to sit down. Sly was about to protest but stopped immediately as the blackness disintegrated to reveal a swirl of fuzzy colors that began to take on various forms. Then Sly began to notice that now there was a fuzzy picture behind his younger counterpart. Then as the surroundings began to come into a clear focus, he realized that his counterpart was not sitting in midair but in a chair in an old bar Sly used to frequent called, The Getaway. At the table with him was a female redheaded fox with green eyes and freckles. A name popped into his mind: Nautica Macavity. Also with her was a male fox whose name, Sly recalled, was Aubrey. Sly began to remember what had taken place there back about two years before he went after Clockwerk. He had gone there to find some schematics for the Macavity Medical Center so that he could "borrow" some equipment for his run for the Thievius Raccoonus. He continued to watch scene unfold since everything else but the main facts still remained a mystery to him. Then he watched the three of them order drinks and continue to chat. Then when the drinks came something weird happened. Sly had left the table to make a call to Bentley to relay how the talks were going. Sly gasped as he watched Nautica pull a vial from her purse and pour it into his drink. Sly's younger self returned and drank his drink and a few minutes later he passed out. Now things were getting interesting because after this part Sly could not remember anything else.

"Come Aubrey, we must get what we came for and get out of here. Did you get the room like I asked?" asked Nautica as she and Aubrey thread their arms around Sly's middle and lifted him out of the seat and proceeded to carry Sly out of the bar. The room began to spin before Sly's eyes as his vision began to blur. Then Sly felt his body tilt backwards and his feet leave the ground. Sly slowly struggled back to consciousness. He found himself apart of the memory rather than just an observer. He was bound to a hard cot in the middle of a white room. The only reason he could tell that is because he could see the Velcro strapped to his wrists out of his peripheral vision. The room was all white and sterile in appearance. Everything was neat and orderly and looked brand new. All of sudden Sly a soft whirring sound as if something was warming or starting up. Sly craned his neck hard to try to see. He could see Aubrey standing near the bed eyeing him with a look of pure lust that made Sly squirm uncomfortably. That whirring sound was getting louder and stronger then a small beep sounded afterwards nothing but silence. Then Sly felt pain in his leg and then numbness began to crawl up his leg followed by a sensation of nothingness. It felt as if everywhere the numbing sensation touched part of his limb disappeared. Aubrey must have noticed Sly's panic because he said,

"Do not worry it won't last long, the neurotoxin causes temporary paralysis but no more it will wear off after we flush it out of your system." Sly had really begun to panic because the toxin had continued working its way through his body and most of limbs. It was now spread through his chest and it was getting harder to breathe. Sly must have been bugged eyed because then Nautica Macavity sauntered over to his bedside and said,

"Relax, Cooper… Aubrey is a trained EMT, he will make sure you live or else he will be joining you in a grave of his own." She growled shooting a look at Aubrey that could make stone weather and crumble. At the same time Aubrey was putting an oxygen mask over Sly's face. But Sly was not really concerned with Aubrey was doing but with Nautica was holding. From where Sly was laying he could see her holding what looked… like…a… cattle prod. "What in the _hell _is she going to do with that?" His eyes followed her hand as it moved, as he did so he realized that he was completely naked. Then his eyes widen as he watched her hand and the instrument it held get closer to an area near his genitals…

Sly awoke with a cry. "What in God's name was _that_?" he thought to himself as he slowly rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He was about to go upstairs and check on Desiree when the phone began to ring. Sly reached over and idly picked up the receiver and said,

"Hello?"

"Sly! You will not believe what I have found…" squeaked Bentley…

_(A/N: The dream that Sly had only last a few minutes)_

**Outside Desiree's room…**

"Sister, I don't know what you expect to show me that can change my mind about Cooper." said an exasperated Carmen. Carmelita wheeled around and muttered to Carmen,

"This has nothing to do with Cooper! I just want you to see something…" Carmelita gently turned the handle and pushed open the door and slowly ushered Carmen inside, making sure to close the door quietly behind her. Carmelita stood next to her sister who was staring at Desiree with her mouth slightly agape. "Her name is Desiree, she is barely seven years old, and needs a heart transplant."

"¿Qúe? What's wrong with her?" asked Carmen with motherly concern. Carmelita shook her sable haired head saying,

"No sé, Cooper never said." Carmen turned to Carmelita and glared at her before asking,

"And how does he know what she has?" Carmelita sighed,

"Cooper retired from thieving a little more than two years ago. He took a part time filing job at Interpol, if you can believe he got away with it, while he was going through Med School to become a cardiologist. He is her legal doctor…"

"I commend him for his effort but you and I both know, hermana, that he is a natural born thief and those impulses cannot be quailed easily…" warned Carmen as her eyes softened a bit but still held a reserved edge. Carmen was starting to see what made Sly Cooper such an enigma to Carmelita, he should, by definition, be unruly and unscrupulous but he was disciplined and honest as they come. On top of that, he actually blended in to mainstream society without a hitch but Carmen held on to that police notion that once someone was a criminal that person would always be a criminal.

"So, this is the girl created by Macavity's crazy fertilization clinic… and Sly Cooper's daughter," said Carmen as she became silent and her disposition became pensive. "Carm, are you sure that Cooper didn't orchestrate this to hurt you, I mean, I can see that you are emotionally torn by this."

"Yes, I know that Sly did not have Desiree manufactured to hurt me, he loves her too much. I watched him break down and sob at the thought of losing her… but I know who might have had her created her… if Desiree is my daughter…" sighed Carmelita. Carmen arched an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yes… Nautica Macavity…" Carmelita growled. Carmen eyes widened until they were about to pop out of her skull.

"You're kidding…" scoffed Carmen.

"I wish I were…" groaned Carmelita.

"So, your theory is that Nautica impregnated you with Cooper's child just to get back at you."

"Sí, I think so." Carmelita sighed.

"Pero, you do know that if this child is yours, mamá and papá are not going to be happy or keen to accept her… I mean, I am not trying to be rude but she's… a mutt."

"Carmen!" Carmelita whispered harshly. Carmen just shrugged and said,

"But you know it's the truth, Carmelita, if you choose her you might end up being disowned… but that does not mean that I will not be there for you." Carmen said softly. Carmelita nodded mutely. Damn it! She was trapped again and poor Desiree was trapped in the middle.

"I know, but I need to know Carmen… but that does not mean _I _will immediately accept her either. I still have my issues to work out and there's still this _thing _with Cooper…"

"What _thing_?" growled Carmen. Carmelita sighed explosively,

"I do not know if there is a _thing _between Cooper and me that's the problem." Carmen stepped up to Carmelita and hugged her,

"Well no matter what happens, I still love you and I am will always be there for you no matter what mamá and papá say, okay?" Carmelita nodded and added,

"And for Desiree, too?"

"Sí, para Desiree, tambien."

"Gracias hermana, now, I am going to the lab to get that maternity test." said Carmelita affectionately. Carmen released Carmen and led her sister out of the room, closing it quietly behind her. The hospital room was silent for a few moments then a single, soft sob shattered the quiet. Desiree had overheard the conversation between her potential mother and aunt. She was now quietly sobbing to herself. She was a tool… she was "manufactured" to hurt someone else. "Does that mean that I am not real?" she wondered. The woman that she first thought was her mother was not her real mother. Then her daddy seemed to think that Ms. Carmelita was her mother and Ms. Carmelita did not seem to want her either. Desiree was now motherless again. She was an "orchestrated" doll. She was the reason her Daddy cried all the time. She had walked in on him one day in his room and saw him crying. Desiree was growing angrier and slowly tried to sit up. Once she was sitting up she looked down at herself. She slowly began removing all of the tubes that were hooked to her body. She then slowly slid off the bed onto the floor. Her legs wobbled a bit and she had to grab the side table for support. Then she slowly made her way to the door using various things for support. As she reached for the doorknob she whispered,

"I hurt daddy and I was made to hurt Ms. Carmelita so, if I leave… they won't hurt anymore…" She slowly opened the door and wobbled through it holding on to the wall for support. The nurses' station was empty for the moment, Desiree started down the hall and around the corner although it was causing her a great deal strain to do so…

**Back with Sly…**

"Sly you will not believe this, I intercepted an email from Nautica… she is pretending to be Desiree's mother…" screeched Bentley. "She's planning on taking Desiree from you during the custody hearing!"

"Oh, I do not think that will work… I think that we have found Desiree's real mother…"

"Whew… That is a relief. Anyway, I also found out something else, the Contessa used to work for Macavity also…"

"What…? Wait no… That makes sense… that might explained why I have been dreaming about forgotten memories that seem to come out of no where…"

"What are you talking about, Sly?" Sly was about to answer when Sly heard an excited voice in the background of the phone.

"Is that Murray? What going on Bent?" asked Sly.

"Sly… someone just drooped off an ice box… full of ice with Amarianni's heart in it…" Sly almost dropped the phone.

"Thank God! Look I will be there in 5 minutes to get it, okay?" said Sly hurriedly and hung up too quickly in his excitement. Sly was just about to get up and leave when his phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Dr. Cooper, your daughter is gone! She is not in her room!" said a panicked voice on the other end. Sly did drop the phone this time. He hurriedly picked it back up and instructed the nurse to wait for him before slamming down the receiver. He jetted out the door and headed straight for the pediatric unit…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**That is it! Review plz! Here is some of ch. 13:**

"Carmelita the results from your maternity are back…" said Sly slowly.

"And…" snapped Carmelita her nerves making her impatient.

"And you are…" …

**That's all, see you next time! **


	13. Chapter 13

Hi again! I am glad people are still reading this! Anyway, I have decided to split this story up. I was originally going to make this part of a trilogy but I decided that this story would become a bit too long if I did it that way so, I am breaking up this story into parts. This story will now be part one of a quartet of stories. The second story after this will deal mostly with Carmelita and Aurora Vencinette but it will also deal with demise of Joseph Macavity as well as another villain. Sly and Desiree will still be around but not as much will be focused on them. Also please read the note I left on my profile page please. Well now back to the current story…

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, and Adolf Hisser belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 13**

Sly had rounded the corner so quickly that he did not have time to stop before he ran into a young tigress that looked like she had just stepped out of a black and white movie. The tigress was tall and lanky with glistening gray fur with black stripes. Her fur color scheme made her green eyes stand out as her most noticeable feature. Sly reached down, grabbed the woman's hand to help her up, and when he did, he instantly felt a tremor of fear race down his spine. Then as he helped the woman up he swore if you changed her stripes from gray and black to shades of purple she was a carbon copy of Neyla. This little deduction caused Sly to stiffen and growl through clenched teeth. But he instantly got his emotions under control and muttered an apology before continuing on the pediatric unit.

Shadow watched with interest as the raccoon male hurried to put distance between him and her. "So, you remember my sister. That's good then that means that my target will definitely remember her which will make my revenge all the sweeter… Look out Ms. Fox, I will have my revenge for my sister…"…

**In the Lab at Paris Memorial…**

Carmelita made sure that Carmen had gotten back to her car okay and returned to the hospital. She was now in the lab having her mouth swabbed and hair plucked for DNA samples to compare to Desiree's. Carmelita was so buried in her own thoughts that she really did not notice what the techs were doing. Finally she interrupted the mouse technician that was clipping her nails,

"Excuse me, I am a bit confused. I understand that my DNA matched a certain part of Desiree's DNA but we look nothing alike…"

"Ah… actually Ms. Fox, this girl's DNA is extremely unusual. The way it is coordinated makes it look like it was manually put together. I have heard that some clinics have that technology to do something like that but I have never actually seen DNA like that until now but as far as appearance goes, the girl probably inherited your recessive traits." said the mouse.

"Recessive traits?" questioned Carmelita with a cock of her fair eyebrow. The young mouse nodded.

"Recessive traits are physical traits that are not normally seen in a family's bloodline," the tech tried to explain. She instantly noticed the look of pure confusion on Carmelita's face and tried to give an example, "What color are the eyes of most of your family members, Ms. Fox?"

"Brown although a few of my cousins have green eyes." She answered simply. The young mouse nodded.

"Your cousins have the recessive trait for eye color in your family, Desiree might also have the recessive trait for eyesight, eye color, and hair color." said the mouse with a shrug. Carmelita pondered on this tidbit of information while the tech finished her job. "Why would someone take the time to engineer a child with specific traits…? Why would Nautica do this?" Carmelita thought as she began to embrace the thought of Desiree being her daughter. Speaking of Desiree…

**Back in the Pediatric Unit…**

Desiree had not gotten too much further from her room before she collapsed. She had fallen behind a soiled linen hamper. So many of the nurses that were looking for her could not see the unconscious girl. But, Sly was smarter than that. He looked in every nook and cranny of the unit for his daughter. Sly was in full out panic mode, the longer Desiree was off of those machines the weaker she would become and the higher her chance of dying would become. Sly was near tears and calling out her name every now and then. But still received no response from his little girl.

Desiree had heard her father's cries but she was too weak to answer. She felt hot and tired. Her mouth was dry and she was thirsty. She began to cry. She did not feel well…

Carmelita hated this hospital; it was an aggravating labyrinth. If you did not where you were going exactly, good luck getting anywhere at all. Carmelita always seemed to get lost in this hospital. As she was trying to find her way through the pediatric unit, she thought she heard something. A soft sound that sounded a lot like whimpering or crying. She listened for the sound and followed it. She came across a small hamper used to hold dirty linen. The sound was much louder now; Carmelita walked over and looked into the hamper… Nothing there… But the sound was still strong. She happened to glance out the corner of her eye and saw some red hair. "Huh?… Desiree!" she exclaimed. The little girl was pale (well, as pale as a fox could get). She looked barely conscious. Carmelita quickly stooped down and shook the child. The little vixen stirred slightly and opened her tired jade eyes to stare at Carmelita.

"Miss… Car…me…lita…?" she managed. Carmelita gently scooped the child up in her arms and rushed off to find Sly…

With Jorge Fox… 

Jorge was still warring internally as he drove the unconscious Justin to the drop off point. Even though Justin was as unscrupulous as a person could get, he was still a person. Could he really put that boy into the hands of a madman who was in a terrible mood? But if he didn't, Hisser would definitely turn his anger on Jorge's family and the IAB agent could not have that. As he pulled up to a red light, he murmured a quick prayer of forgiveness for himself and a prayer of repentance for Justin, the devout Catholic had a feeling the young weasel was going to need it. Jorge sighed as the light changed from red to green. He turned at the next corner and drove down a long secluded street and pulled next to an abandoned garage. As he debated taking the boy in, he could feel the guilt simmering away in his gut, eating away at his heart… He could not do it… But just then, a huge German Shepard knocked on his window. Jorge gulped slightly and reached to let the window down but then he stopped…

"Dios… what do I do?" moaned Jorge. Just then he heard the soft click of a gun barrel and then he felt the cold metal being pressed against the side of his head. Jorge's heart rate went up immediately. He gripped the steering wheel hard.

"You roll down that window and I will blow your brains out…" growled Justin. Jorge nodded slowly. The old fox's heart was going ten miles a minute and he was starting to sweat. He had to find away to get this weasel off of his back, so to speak. Jorge did not have to think for long because, as he looked up into his rear view mirror, he saw Justin edging over to the other side of the backseat, and that the gun was no longer against his head but still aimed at him in midair. "Maybe…" thought Jorge. He continued to eye the weasel scooting closer and closer to the door. Once Justin reached the door, he pulled on the handle to find that it was locked. "Unlock the door," he barked. Jorge reached down and unlocked the door of his sedan still eyeing Justin from the mirror. As soon as Justin was half way out of the door, Jorge floored his accelerator and the car shot off leaving Justin sprawled out on the sidewalk. Jorge stopped the car and reached back to pull the back door closed before speeding off for home.

Justin picked himself up off of the sidewalk with a grunt, which turned into a gasp as the German Shepard grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. The then a blinding pain shot through Justin's skull as the butt of the German Shepard's gun connected with the back of his head. The weasel went unconscious…

**Back with Carmelita…**

She had finally caught up to Sly who was nearly delirious with panic. He rushed Desiree back to her room and placed her back on life support. Now Carmelita and Sly were outside discussing what could have possibly made Desiree do what she did. But, soon, both of them were at a loss.

"Carmelita did you see Desiree before you found her a few minutes ago?" Sly asked as he leaned against a wall while twirling a black ink pen in his fingers. Carmelita thought for a moment… Wait!

"Yeah, I did… I showed Desiree to Carmen… we started talking and…" Carmelita was about to say that they left afterwards but then she remembered what was said… "Oh…Dios…" she whimpered. Sly frowned in concern. He pushed off the wall and walked over to Carmelita and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She would not look at him; the guilt was weighing her head and shoulders down.

"I… we… Carmen… ohhhh… if Desiree is my hija, I don't deserve her…" she mumbled. Sly was clearly confused. He finally put his hand under her chin and pulled her head up to make her look at him. He could see the guilt in her eyes and the unshed tears. He gently coaxed the vixen to go on with a simple,

"Go on Carmelita…" Carmelita sighed, opened her mouth, and started her story right before Carmen and she first entered Desiree's room…

**Flashback:**

"_Sister, I don't know what you expect to show me that can change my mind about Cooper." said an exasperated Carmen. Carmelita wheeled around and muttered to Carmen,_

"_This has nothing to do with Cooper! I just want you to see something…" Carmelita gently turned the handle and pushed open the door and slowly ushered Carmen inside, making sure to close the door quietly behind her. Carmelita stood next to her sister who was staring at Desiree with her mouth slightly agape. "Her name is Desiree, she is barely seven years old, and needs a heart transplant." _

"_¿Qúe? What's wrong with her?" asked Carmen with motherly concern. Carmelita shook her sable haired head saying,_

"_No sé, Cooper never said." Carmen turned to Carmelita and glared at her before asking,_

"_And how does he know what she has?" Carmelita sighed,_

"_Cooper retired from thieving a little more than two years ago. He took a part time filing job at Interpol, if you can believe he got away with it, while he was going through Med School to become a cardiologist. He is her legal doctor…" _

"_I commend him for his effort but you and I both know, hermana that he is a natural born thief and those impulses cannot be quailed easily…" warned Carmen as her eyes softened a bit but still held a reserved edge. Carmen was starting to see what made Sly Cooper such an enigma to Carmelita, he should be, by definition, unruly and unscrupulous but he was disciplined and honest as they come. On top of that, he actually blended in to mainstream society without a hitch but Carmen held on to that police notion that once someone was a criminal that person would always be a criminal._

"_So, this is the girl created by Macavity's crazy fertilization clinic… and Sly Cooper's daughter," said Carmen as she became silent and her disposition became pensive. "Carm, are you sure that Cooper didn't orchestrate this to hurt you, I mean, I can see that you are emotionally torn by this."_

"_Yes, I know that Sly did not have Desiree manufactured to hurt me, he loves her too much. I watched him break down and sob at the thought of losing her… but I know who might have had her created… if Desiree is my daughter…" sighed Carmelita. Carmen arched an eyebrow. _

"_Really?"_

"_Yes, it was Nautica Macavity…" Carmelita growled. Carmen eyes widened until they were about to pop out of her skull. _

"_You're kidding…" scoffed Carmen._

"_I wish I were…" groaned Carmelita._

"_So, your theory is that Nautica impregnated you with Cooper's child just to get back at you." _

"_Sí, I think so." Carmelita sighed. _

"_Pero, you do know that if this child is yours, mamá and papá are not going to be happy or keen to accept her… I mean, I am not trying to be rude but she's… a mutt."_

"_Carmen!" Carmelita whispered harshly. Carmen just shrugged and said,_

"_But you know it's the truth, Carmelita, if you choose her you might end up being disowned… but that does not mean that I will not be there for you." Carmen said softly. Carmelita nodded mutely. Damn it! She was trapped again and poor Desiree was trapped in the middle. _

"_I know, but I need to know Carmen… but that does not mean I will immediately accept her either. I still have my issues to work out and there's still this thing with Cooper…"_

"_What thing?" growled Carmen. Carmelita sighed explosively,_

"_I do not know if there is a thing __between Cooper and me that's the problem." Carmen stepped up to Carmelita and hugged her,_

"_Well no matter what happens, I still love you and I am will always be there for you no matter what __mamá and papá say, okay?" Carmelita nodded and added,_

"_And for Desiree, too?" _

"_Sí, para Desiree, tambien." _

"_Gracias hermana, now, I am going to the lab to get that maternity test." said Carmelita affectionately…_

Sly remained silent; Carmelita looked down unable to continue to look at Sly.

"So, creo que Desiree may have overheard our conversation," muttered Carmelita. Sly let out a long sigh. "Wow, what a day…" he thought wearily. He pulled Carmelita into a sympathetic hug. "This poor girl has been through so much..."

"Look, Carmelita, there is no reason you feel guilty about what you or your sister said, although it would make me very happy if you guys did not call Desiree a… 'mutt', it brings back a lot of bad memories for me. But I can understand why Desiree was upset. She is a lot smarter than she looks. So, she could understand the jest of the conversation. So, with her seven-year-old logic, she probably deduced that we would be better of without her." Sly explained softly. Carmelita felt a little better knowing that he was not angry at her. But she still felt that she owed the vixen child an apology, illegitimate or not. She silently promised herself that she would definitely apologize. Sly was staring at her expectantly as he waited for her to speak. She noticed this and said,

"I understand, but that does not make it right. I will make things right with Desiree." She promised. Sly nodded understanding.

"Please do, she does not need another motherly figure walking out of her life. Nautica has already done that to her once. She pretended to be her mother and was planning on taking her from me in a custody battle. But thanks to a friend of mine I know the truth. But now that makes poor Desiree motherless again. She needs you, Carmelita… she needs a mother." He intoned. Carmelita was stunned. So, Nautica wasn't only out to get her, she was trying to get to Sly, too, but... why?

**About an hour later at that abandoned garage…**

Former Interpol Constable Justin Whittaker moaned groggily as he woke up. He was naked, except for his boxers; that much he could tell but the lighting was dim. He was chained backwards to a wall. All that he could see was the wall he was chained to. He instantly stiffened as he heard slow footsteps coming closer to where he was. Then heard a door open and a brief ray light flooded part of the room. Justin was trembling now. He heard the slow and heavy footsteps get closer and closer until they were right behind him. The weasel felt the ray of a flashlight on him then he heard a familiar voice say,

"I must loco for being here… Justin I swear if you do one thing to vex me, I _will_ kill you, understand?" Jorge growled. Justin nodded mutely. Jorge moved his flashlight around the room trying to discern how to free the weasel from his chains. But just as the officer spotted a weak spot, his sensitive ears picked up the sound of soft footsteps. He quickly spotted a place to hide, an old, empty locker in the room. He raced over to the locker and opened and jumped inside and shut the door as quietly as he could. He then flicked his finger to cut off the flashlight. Now, the room was drenched in total darkness again. Jorge's heart was pounding so loud it seemed to echo of the metallic walls of the locker. He held his breath as the door opened and closed again. Then the room was flooded with light. Jorge could see that they were in one of the garages. There were tools hanging about, there was raising platform for cars and toolboxes everywhere. Jorge's eyes widened as he saw a figure with red hair walk by. He looked out as far as he could without pushing open the door and he saw that the red hair belonged to a woman… a fox to be exact… "Why is Nautica here?" thought Jorge as he watched her saunter over to where Justin was chained to the garage door. The woman soon answered his thought when she spoke,

"Justin, what an appetizing body you have," Her French accent was thick, "to bad I will never get to _taste_ it…" Justin began to whimper. Nautica growled, "Shut up! You sniveling crybaby… I know every crime you had been involved in, including the killing of that prostitute and the manger in that motel _and _the attempted kidnapping of Desiree Cooper! That was your final mistake! That child took me years to create! Then in one night, _you_ nearly jeopardized my entire plan! That child was the centerpiece of my marvelous plan to get Sly Cooper into my bed! I was going to steal the child from him and force him to be my slave to keep her alive!!! Now, she is in the hospital _dying _thanks to you!!" the clearly irate vixen began to stalk back and forth as she continued to rave, "So, then I had to have my man on the inside kill Amarianni Vencinette and take her heart for the girl's pre-mature surgery!"

"Pre-Pre-mature?" squeaked Justin. The vixen clenched her teeth together in annoyance before answering the question with a terse,

"Yes… pre-mature… I fabricated the girl's genes so that she would inherent the defect. I was planning on the girl needing surgery to stay alive… that is what would keep Sly by my side for eternity! So, I had to go through all that trouble to keep her alive and now I have to restructure my entire plan to accommodate this humungous setback! So, now you are going to tell me what my father's plan is so that _I _can wreck his plan as payback!" sneered the woman. Justin snarled,

"I am not telling you anything! Macavity would kill me!" Although Justin could not see it, the vixen was silently smirking.

"Oh, I think you will tell me… because I know a little secret about your new look that you might want to hear…"

"And that is?" asked Justin afraid to find out the answer. Nautica giggled psychotically before walking over to the side of where Justin was chained and looking him in the face before saying,

"While you were napping… I took a hollow suppository with a mini C4 bomb in it and stuck it up your, let's say rather toned buns. And… after I type the activation code into my cell phone, the countdown will began and in 5 minutes, that bomb will explode…" Justin sobbed aloud. Nautica just laughed. "Nautica and her father are both alike… absolutely insane!" thought Jorge with disgust.

"B-but I can't t-t-tell you, the boss's plans, cause I don't know of any! I swear I don't!!!" sobbed Justin. Nautica's stone face remained unmoving.

"It is not nice to swear, Mr. Whittaker…" she growled under her breath. Jorge could here it in her voice that the fox was losing her patience with the weasel. Jorge nearly gasped aloud when Nautica pulled out a cell phone and dialed in some digits. Then she flipped the phone closed and laid it down on a nearby worker's bench. "Well, now you have five minutes to live, Justin…" She then walked over to the locker and looked Jorge right in the eyes before she locked the door. Then she walked out of the room and supposedly turned out the lights as well, for the room was a dark abyss once more. Jorge had begun to panic himself. He had to find a way out of this locker or both he and the kid were going to die. Jorge threw all his weight against the old door but the lock held fast.

"Okay, Jorge, Cree! (Think!)" Jorge urged himself. Then the officer remembered his gun. It wasn't one of those futuristic shock pistols most of the officers carried. It used bullets just like in the old days. He reached down and barely pulled out the handgun, due to the lack of adequate movement room. He then clicked on the flashlight and aimed the beam of light at the door focusing on the door's locking mechanism. Then he raised the gun and aimed it at the illuminated obstacle before he pulled the trigger three times, blowing the lock off. The locker door flew open and his flashlight beam fell on the discarded cell phone. "How much longer does Justin have?" thought the cop as he walked over and picked up the phone. He flipped open the phone and gasped. The screen was white and there were huge red numbers flashing on the screen. It was a countdown. Justin had **three minutes** left… Jorge turned around and ran over to where Justin was still chained to the wall and sobbing. "Shut up! You don't have time to mourn what you haven't lost yet!" scolded Jorge as he looked at the chains that crisscrossed and snaked their way around Justin's body. There was a heavy amount of chains surrounding Justin's lower midsection. There would be no way in the world to get all those chains off before that bomb went off. Jorge looked back at the phone as he desperately tried to find a way to free Justin. "Maybe…" he thought. He walked back over to the phone and opened it once more… **1:59:32**… Jorge began to sweat… he began to randomly input numbers. The fox knew that it was futile but, he had to try! Jorge saw this chance to save Justin as a chance for Jorge to restore his sense of honor and self-worth… **0:45:22**… Jorge growled in frustration, he did not even know exactly how many numbers there were in the code!

"Jorge!!!" screamed Justin nearly beside himself with hysteria. Justin was shaking so hard that the chains were rattling. The noise was making it very hard for Jorge to concentrate but he could not blame the poor boy, Jorge would be just as afraid if the current roles were reversed. Jorge momentarily stopped pressing the buttons when the smell of ammonia reached his nose. The kid had peed his pants. Jorge wiped a cold sweat from his brow as he watched the last seconds of Justin's life tick away… **0:30:15**… Damn it all!! Jorge knew it was over for the kid but he still tried his hardest to help. Jorge continued to work as he started to pray,

"Our Father, which art in Heaven…"

…**0:27:02…**

"Hallowed be thy Name…"

…**0:24:52…**

"Thy kingdom come…"

…**0:21:42…**

"Thy will be done, in earth as it is in Heaven…"

…**0:18:32…**

"Give us this day our daily bread…"

…**0:15:22…**

"And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us…"

…**0:12:12…**

"And lead us not into temptation…"

…**0:09:08…**

"But deliver us from evil…"

…**0:06:04…**

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever…"

…**0:03:00…**

"Amen…" Jorge sobbed as he watched the clock continue to run down.

…**0:02:00…0:01:00…00:00:00… BAAAM! **

Jorge screamed as the cell phone exploded in his hands. They were badly burned but not amputated. Jorge turned at a scream from Justin then…

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM! The force of the explosion threw Jorge Fox backwards… Jorge could see the flames rushing towards him like hands from hell. He screamed as the flames engulfed him. The fire licked at his body like thirsty hellhounds. Jorge felt a mind numbing pain tear through his left eye and the pain only continued as Jorge hit a wall and then collapsed onto the floor. He was badly burned but still conscious. He struggled through his pain to stand. There was fire everywhere and it was growing by the minute. Jorge could not see out of his left eye and he could feel the hot fluid leaking down his face with his good eye, he looked to where Justin had been. There was a huge hole in the door he had been chained to and above that hole hung two arms that were still locked in chains… That was all that was left of Justin Whittaker… The hands were outstretched palm up as if the boy was reaching out to heaven just before he died. A few small flames were growing in front of the hole. Jorge bullied his way through his pain as he limped to that opening. When he did make it through he saw that his car, which had been sitting in front of the door, had been blown across the street after being totaled by the explosion. Jorge moved slowly across the street and collapsed on the sidewalk. His lungs burned as he cough up all the foul smoke that had entered his lungs. Apparently no one else had heard the commotion since there was no one else on the street. Jorge groaned in pain as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He managed to flip it open and pushed the 2nd speed dial button… then he waited…

**Back at the hospital…**

Sly had just returned with Amarianni's missing heart for Desiree, apparently someone just dropped it off at his apartment. The date for her surgery was set for two days later. Carmelita was ecstatic for Sly and Desiree because both of them had gone through so much these past couple of weeks. Carmelita was currently watching over the sleeping Desiree and her new adopted sister, Aurora; Sly asked her to, while he finished up some work in his office. She was currently nodding off when her cell phone began to ring. She started then relaxed and reached for the device on rolling tray. She opened it to see that her father was calling her. She pressed the talk button and put it to her ear.

"Dega, Carmelita speaking." She said. She was surprised to hear how weak her father sounded on the phone.

"Carmelita… Nautica… killed Justin… tried to s-sa-save him but…" he gasped out. Carmelita was already on her feet.

"¿Qúe¿Papá, Donde estas? (What? Daddy, where are you?)" she asked urgently, trying to understand what was happening.

"The old… garage… near docks… Carm…" his voice faded away until it was gone. Carmelita panicked and head straight for Sly's office. She burst through the door without even knocking. Sly looked up from a stack of papers he had been skimming over. But when he saw the look on her face, he knew something was wrong.

"Carmelita…" he started as he came around from behind the desk but did not get to finish because Carmelita interjected,

"I think Nautica attacked my father while he was transporting Justin. Justin is dead… My father may need my help, I have to go…" Sly nodded and added,

"Go on, I will go watch the girls, and if you need any help let me know. But where is he and should I call an ambulance?"

"Yeah, I think you'd better, he said something about the old garage near the docks…"

"I know where that is… but there is something you should know before you leave," said Sly slowly.

"What is that?" asked Carmelita.

"Carmelita the results from your maternity test are back…" said Sly slowly.

"And…" snapped Carmelita her nerves making her impatient.

"And you are… Desiree's mother…" he finished slowly. Carmelita's head began to swim but she bullied her way through her emotions and pounced on Sly.

"She's alive… my baby's alive!!" she squealed with delight as she engulfed Sly in a bear hug. Sly laughed and hugged her back.

"I am happy for you but I think your father needs you…" he reminded her. She stepped back and nodded. She then turned on her heel and rushed from the room. Sly turned to his desk and picked up the phone and pressed a button. "Yes, this is Dr. Cooper," he said after a moment, "I have been informed that an ambulance may be needed at the Regal Docks Garage. I am not exactly sure but an officer was attacked while he was transporting a prisoner. Yes, thank you." He hung up the phone and picked it up again then dialed a familiar number.

"S'up Sly," greeted Murray's jovial voice.

"Hey Murray, put Bentley on the phone…" said Sly with a chuckle.

"Hello," said a nasally voice.

"Bent, I think I know who had that heart…" said Sly slowly.

"Really, who?" asked Bentley.

"Nautica Macavity…" he said.

"Her? But why?" asked Bentley. Sly smiled, for once he was the one with all the facts.

"Carmelita imparted some very important information to me earlier tonight. I think I am being to understand this muddled mess more and more…" Sly answered mysteriously, "I'll tell you when I get back but for now just be ready to get to work, I am just waiting on an informant."

"Oh really, someone from inside Nautica's or Macavity's stronghold?" questioned Bentley.

"I can't say at the moment… but what I do know is that Justin Whittaker may have been a member of Nautica's elk since he had a hand in the death of Amarianni and that devastated Joseph Macavity's operations. But Justin is dead now, supposedly killed by Nautica according to my unknowing informant." Sly said.

"And who might this "unknowing informant" be, Sly?" asked Bentley.

"Jorge Fox…" Sly grinned when he heard Bentley gurgle on the other end in disbelief…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**That's it folks! It took me long enough!!!!! Well, this story is winding down… just a few more chapters to go guys! YAY!!!!! Here's a peek at Chappy 14! See Ya!**

**--WK989**

Sly wiped his face off as he exited the operating room. He removed his gloves and mask as he made his way into the waiting room. Sly stopped at the door and looked out the window at all the people that came to support Carmelita and her family. He could see Carmen and Carmelita comforting their mother on a sofa. He let out a huge breath and opened the door. They all looked up at him with expectant faces.

"Is my father…okay?" asked Carmelita timidly. Sly shook his head.

"I truly regret having to tell you this but your father…"…


	14. Chapter 14

Hi! I cannot believe I am almost through with this story! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this that makes me so happy. I will probably try to wrap this up in about 5-6 more chapters and I have planned about three sequels to this story and plenty of other Sly stories! SO, trust me I will not just disappear after this!

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, and Adolf Hisser belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 14**

**As Carmelita was speeding through Paris…**

Carmelita was usually a stickler about obeying the speed limit but at the moment, she had more pressing matters to attend to. Like her father… She was already on the edge of panic as the thought crossed her mind. He just could not be dead yet… he may not even be hurt. But that notion was quickly squashed as her brain replayed the prior call in her head. He sounded so weak on the phone… She jammed her foot down on the accelerator on her convertible and the car roared as it jerked forward. She flicked on the dashboard siren as she switched lanes and drove off the exit ramp. She then turned on her GPS guidance system and barked,

"Jorge Fox, locate!" The screen went white a moment then a portion of a map popped up. A bright red dot blinked up at Carmelita in the middle of a thin lavender strip that indicated a street on the map. She continued accelerating through the back roads of Paris taking sharp turns that caused her tires to scream in protest when the machine told her to. About fifteen minutes later, Carmelita smelled the smoke before she even saw the flames. She practically gaped at the black billows of smoke cascading from the hole in one of the doors the old garage. She began to cough and her eyes started to water as soon as she stopped the car. She slowly got out the car and looked around as she reached for her shock pistol. The smoke was thick and heavily obscured her vision but she pressed on, because her padre needed help. She continued to stumble blindly through the smoke, coughing all the while. She was about to panic when she heard a faint groan coming from her left. "¡Papá! Where are you? Answer me!" she called out. She strained to listen for any response. Then she heard a muffled voice call to her. She followed the voice until she came out of the smoke. She looked about and gasped when her eyes fell on an unmoving figure across the fodder-laden street. She ran over to the fallen figure and sunk to her knees. She slowly looked the individual over and nearly sobbed when she recognized the tattered jacket. It was a deep brown in the sunlight and it zipped up the front. It had a hand sewn Interpol Badge on the left breast. There were many faded spots on the jacket caused by the sun and it was worn from old age. Carmelita had wrapped herself in this jacket dozens of times as a little girl. This was her father's favorite chaqueta (jacket). Her mother had bought the jacket for him as a graduation gift after her father finished the police academy. She even sewed the badge on it. Carmelita fought back tears as she tentatively reached out and gently shook her father.

"Oooohhhhh…" Jorge groaned. Carmelita sighed in relief but cried out when her father looked up at her. His left eye was swollen shut and oozing. There were burns all over his face. His remaining eye was starting to glaze over and the light of wisdom that was usually there had been dimmed by doubt and regret. "Car-mel-ita…"

"Please rest, papá… I will make sure that you get some help. Okay?" said Carmelita her voice unsteady. He nodded slowly and collapsed backwards against the wall again. "Where is that ambulance?! Oh… what do I do? Wait, what am I thinking? I am a Lieutenant with Interpol!" she thought as she pulled out her phone. "This is Carmelita Fox with Interpol; I have located the injured officer. The target is too injured to await a bus. I am taking him to Paris Memorial. And get a CSI squad and a fire engine over to the Regal Docks Garage. Do you understand?"

"Bomb squad…" he muttered. Carmelita looked back at her father.

"Qué?"

"Bomb… she blew him up…" he gasped. Him? What was her father talking about?

"What do you mean, 'she blew him up'? Who?" asked Carmelita as she tried to understand what was going on.

"Justin… planted a bomb… inside…" he gasped as he collapsed back against the wall. She called in the bomb squad as well, just because her father asked for it. She knelt by his side once more and shook her father awake.

"Hang on… Okay? Can you walk?" she asked when Jorge came to again. He shook his head and looked down at his badly burned leg. Carmelita instantly grimaced. She then stooped down and put her one of arms behind he father's shoulders and the other underneath his knees. She then hoisted her father up and somehow managed to make it back to her car. Her breath was coming in short, strained gasps as she strained to lift her father over her convertible's open top. She slid her father into the passenger seat and buckled him in. She raced back over to her side of the car and jumped in, completely ignoring the door. She put the vehicle into drive and sped off towards the hospital…

**Back at the Hospital…**

Sly watched in quiet relief as Desiree slept. In an about 18 hours, Desiree would finally have that much needed surgery. Sly could feel his hands starting to tremble just a little. "Cool it, Cooper! You've done dozens of heart transplants in the past. You are the best cardiologist at this hospital! You have performed numerous operations on adults and pediatrics… you can do this…" thought Sly as he tried to mentally psyche himself up for the surgery _he _would be performing on his daughter. Sly then gave a heavy sigh and groaned aloud. "What if something happens…? What if I forget how to…? What if there is a power outage or what if…" Sly tried his hardest not to scream aloud as his mind came up with every possible thing that could go wrong. Thankfully, a soft sigh finally dragged Sly back to reality. He looked over at Aurora, who had fallen asleep at the bottom of Desiree's bed. He slowly stood up and went over to the sleeping fledgling and scoped her up in his arms. A huge smothering wave of guilt crashed over Sly as he remembered the letter that he read from Aurora's now deceased father. He still could not believe it… Arpeggio, the final member of the Klaww Gang, had actually been Aurora's father. The intelligent bird had been no different than Sly, willing to do whatever it took to protect his family. He had known that Neyla had been a threat from the first off but he was willing to risk working with traitorous strumpet to save his loved ones. Sly sighed for umpteenth time. How much more ironic could his life get? His family's curse would destroy the father of the very child that he would become an adoptive father to. He looked at the child as she sighed sleepily and snuggled closer to him as she muttered,

"Papá…" Her heavily accented voice was cherubic to Sly's ears. Since Sly was younger he had always had a soft spot for kids. He even dreamed of having some of his own one day. He smiled when it dawned on him that he had achieved that dream thanks to Desiree and Aurora. Desiree… He looked over at his sleeping daughter. She looked so peaceful. She was still blissfully unaware of the chaos that had slowly engulfed her small family. But that chaos was about to become history. Sly just needed a little more information about Nautica and Joseph Macavity before he and his gang could move in and take them both down. As he laid Aurora down on the couch and covered her up with a blanket, Sly continued to think about what could possibly connect all of the information that he currently knew. He walked over to the door and leaned against it. He took a breath and decided to start from the top. All of this really started back two years ago when he discovered that he had a daughter…

Okay…

1. He, Sly Cooper, who was still a virgin at time and still is, discovers that he has a biological hybrid daughter named Desiree. She may have been "manufactured" at the now closed Macavity Labs.

2. Then two years later, on her birthday a plane falls from the sky and blows up a stunt show arena at Euro Disney. This puts Sly back face to face with Carmelita. No one has found out whom or what caused it. He met Justin Whittaker for the first time.

3. Amarianni Vencinette is mortally wounded in the blast. This is the first time Sly sees Aurora Vencinette. Also he learns of someone claiming to be Desiree's mother wanting to take custody of Desiree from him.

4. Then three days later… Sly and Carmelita had to fight off some hired thugs that were after his daughter… that incident would hospitalize Desiree.

5. Then Sly remembered, well more like dreamed that he helped Carmelita give birth to a baby girl they would later find out was his daughter Desiree.

6. Sly is requested to visit Amarianni Vencinette, who on her deathbed, hands over a bunch of information about Nautica and Joseph Macavity and Sly adopts Aurora.

7. He discovers Joseph Macavity's plan for France… (A/N: Check back in chapter 10 if you need a reminder.)

8. Then Amarianni is killed and the heart she had promised for Desiree's operation is stolen.

9. Two dirty cops, including Justin, had Amarianni killed and tried to kidnap Desiree and Jorge Fox carts them off to jail…

10. Sly meets Carmen face to face… the two sisters talk… Carmelita mentions that Nautica may have created Desiree to get back Carmelita for something… he would find that out later…

11. He dreams about Nautica and their weird meeting…

12. Bentley discovers that Nautica is pretending to be Desiree's mother and that the Contessa had worked for Macavity

13. Then the missing heart shows up… How did the organ stay in such good shape for so long?… but Sly really did not care… he was just glad it was still usable…

14. Jorge Fox is attacked while transporting Justin… Justin is killed and Jorge Fox is injured. The cop implicates Nautica for the crime…

All this information created more questions than answers, which left Sly very, very frustrated; there must be some connection. But what is it? He went over the list again in his mind from top to bottom and from the bottom to the top. Sly still could not find a connection. How did Bentley manage it? He would take a bunch of useless bits of information and seemed to just make them connect to each other. Just like on the first Clockwerk case… Bentley had taken all the pictures and drawings that had originated from different time periods and countries and connected them all and used the various little clues that he had uncovered during the journey to track down where the elusive Clockwerk had been hiding. Sly could still see the huge globe map strung up on their hideout's wall with all of the loops and squiggles on it from Bentley's planning and thinking. Sly gasped as inspiration came to him. He turned around snatched the dry-erase board off the door and grabbed the dry-erase marker from his coat pocket. He laid the board down on the rolling tray and took the top off of the marker. Then he wrote down the mental list of information he had obtained. He stared at it… Then he remembered something. The Contessa had been a crackpot psychologist, who had used hypnosis to force criminals into telling her where they had hidden their loot. Hypnosis… Could she have hypnotized him in order to make him forget what he had seen and endured? Even if she did, why was he remembering now? Sly drew an arrow from the Contessa to each of the various dreams that he had over the past couple of days. Then he went to the phone in the room and dialed a number. Bentley picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bent, you know a little bit about psychology, right?" asked Sly as he continued to ponder over all this new information.

"Sure I know some, why?" he asked. Sly could not help but smile.

"I have been thinking… I am beginning to believe that the Contessa may have had something do with these weird memories I have been dreaming about," said Sly.

"How so?" asked Bentley.

"Hypnosis… I think she may have used hypnosis to wipe my memory of certain events." said Sly.

"Hmmm… it could be possible Sly… I mean, she planned to wipe Carmelita's entire memory and make her take the fall back at Interpol, remember? But why would she work for such an unscrupulous man such as Joseph Macavity… I mean she was the ambitious type, ya know the ones that work for themselves."

"Maybe… to save her own neck… and her work." said Sly.

"Whuh?" exclaimed Bentley. Sly slapped his forehead. He had forgotten that Bentley did not know about the "wipe all half-breeds from the face of the earth" plot yet.

"Let me explain Bentley," he said as Sly filled his friend Bentley in on Joseph Macavity's scheme.

"That… That monster!" he screeched. Sly nodded on the other end of the line.

"She married a spider that was not the same species, therefore she was on Macavity's hit list. So, to save herself at the time she swore allegiance to the psychotic cat. But that still does not explain why I am just remembering it now!" said Sly, his frustration becoming apparent.

"Hey Sly, didn't you say something about her using the Clockwerk eye to 'battle in your mind'?" asked Bentley. Sly smiled as he could hear the soft clicking of keys which meant that Bentley was already surfing through his data and adding in the information that Sly had given to him.

"Yeah, it was creepy." answered Sly even as he was shuddering at the memory.

"Maybe her hypnotic probing of your mind, reopened the memories that she had initially closed off. Then going through this situation involving the people and events that coincided with those particular memories, stimulated the brain to retrieve those memories, and then replay them as dreams." said Bentley by a way of explanation. Sly thought about it for a moment and then nodded. Bentley explanation made sense. The same thing could have happened to Carmelita concerning Desiree. Therefore, the Contessa connected Carmelita, those dreams, and himself to Joseph Macavity. But what about Nautica, Desiree, Aurora, Amarianni, Justin, and Jorge Fox, where did they all fit? Joseph Macavity… Nautica Macavity… wait a second…

"Hey Bentley… would Nautica Macavity happen to be related or married to Joseph Macavity?" asked the cardiologist as the newest connections had strengthened his mind and his frustrated spirits. He literally held his breath as he listened to the methodic tapping of Bentley's keys. He then heard his reptilian friend gasp.

"Sly, you are on fire tonight! Nautica Macavity is the daughter of one Joseph Macavity." said Bentley in barely restrained excitement. "According to this e-mail, they cannot stand each other! They don't trust each other either…" Sly's brain went to work once again. "Okay, they are related and they can't stand each other. So, I can safely assume that they would do anything to sabotage the other's plans… But what plans could they be trying undo? Hmmm… Bent, got anymore useful info?" he asked as he continued to draw arrows and make notes on his dry erase board.

"Well it says here that Nautica Macavity has a Ph D in Genetics…" suggested Bentley. Sly for the third time in a week, nearly dropped the receiver. His heart was pounding out of his chest. Genetics… She could have easily manufactured strands of DNA code… even the very code that would eventually make his daughter.

"Bentley," Sly's tone suddenly deathly serious, "what was the last successful plan that Nautica had completed or is working on?"

"Uuummm… let's see… here… this plan is not complete but it was started about seven years ago. There is a lot of information here… I'll do a quick search… are you looking for anything specific?" he asked as his eyes stayed glued to the screen in front of him. Sly thought for a moment. According to Carmelita, Nautica had a vendetta against her. Then on top of that, she believes that Desiree might have something to do with the crazy fox's revenge. Desiree was his biological daughter and Carmelita's as well.

"Okay Bent, look for stuff about Carmelita, Desiree, and me." said Sly.

"Why?" asked the curious turtle even as he executed the search.

"Don't worry Bent I got my reasons…" said Sly as he continued to stare at the dry erase board.

"Okay, there is a little info but it's all separate. Let's see Desiree was the codename for the only successful "planned" in vitro fertilization implantation. I wonder what "planned" means in this context…" said Bentley.

"I know a couple of doctors in that department, I'll ask… What else ya got pal?" said Sly.

"As far as Carmelita goes, there is an e-note mentioning the thought of using Carmelita as an implantation subject for revenge but it does not mention if they ever did; probably not, though, not with her father's pending record with Interpol. And as for you, there is absolutely nothing. This is odd due to the fact that Desiree is your daughter by blood, correct?" Sly breathed a sigh as his friend completely skipped over the fact that Carmelita could potentially be Desiree's real mother. That made things easier for Sly to deal without having to fight with Bentley about Carm's involvement in all of this.

"Yeah, hey Bent, hold on a sec…" Sly said his voice drifting off as he became immersed in thought once more. Desiree… His daughter was at the center of this; he just knew it. "Desiree… Desiree… Desiree means desired! Wait a second!" he thought. "Bent! Type in Desire and see what comes up!" said Sly quickly in his excitement. Bentley noticed the excitement and urgency in his friend's voice and quickly did what he was told. His jaw fell open comically as his computer pulled up e-mail after e-mail and note after note. He clicked on one and nearly fell out of his chair! It was a painting, a very erotic painting… of Sly! He was completely naked save for his trademark blue cap. He looked like he was chained to a wall. He had been whipped pretty badly. But that was not what was the most disturbing. Nautica Macavity was also in the picture completely naked. She held a whip in her right hand and her left hand had a hold on Sly's lower jaw. From the looks of it she was forcing him to look down towards her. Her head was close to his face and her tongue was licking the blood off of a scratch on one of his cheeks. Bentley shuddered and quickly shut off the picture as he murmured,

"This crazy bitch has more than a crush on you, Sly…" But the turtle continued searching through the information anyway. Sly, on the other hand, stood confused on the other end of the line.

"Huh?"

"Hold on, Sly, I think I have found something you'll want to hear." said Bentley. "It says here that Desiree was going to be used as leverage against you, which is why she was posing as the girl's real mother to take her from you in the custody case. But this weird because it goes against the other information I have. I want to look into this further…" said Bentley.

"Wait before you delve into that any further, I need a little more information." counseled Sly as he wrote down some more information. He adjusted the phone on his shoulder again and spoke, "I need you to look up info on Aurora and Amarianni Vencinette, Justin Whittaker, and Jorge Fox. Oh! And the Euro-Disney Event…" said Sly. Bentley frowned. Sly sure knew about a lot all of this, he was asking about all sorts of things that he had not even imagined to be related. He wanted to know just how much his boss and friend knew. But he still searched for the keywords that Sly had given him.

"Let's see, Amarianni and Aurora Vencinette were mother and daughter. Amarianni Vencinette was the younger sister of… get this, Sly… Margalo Vencinette-Macavity! It says that the gang that her father secretly worked for were vigilantes and when Macavity started working through Interpol the gang was put in a tough position and Margalo Vencinette was married off to Macavity, which forged a truce between the two feuding groups. There is also a footnote highlighted here by Nautica. It says that if Margalo, Amarianni or Aurora are harmed in any way the truce is off… Justin Whittaker was murdered by Nautica personally for refusing to tell her about her father's plans so that she could wreck them as revenge for him trampling hers apparently. He died by having a mini C4 bomb shoved up his derriere and detonated… gulp… that would certainly make an impact… Oh! It also says something about trapping the "annoying IAB lap dog of her father's in the same room with Justin before he died. But there was nothing about Jorge Fox, sorry pal and nothing on the Euro Disney thing either, pal. But I hacked into Joseph Macavity's plans and there is something about the Euro Disney owner not paying his "protection" fee and the retribution for it. Second there is a pretty nasty e-mail about Amarianni and Aurora Vencinette being hurt in the blast, Justin Whittaker was the main agent working on that detail. Third Justin mentioned seeing you at the park and offered to acquire your services as payment for his blunder…" said Bentley with a shrug.

Sly was breathing heavily now… It all made sense now that were just a few more details left and he would have all he needed to stop at least part of the Macavity family.

"Okay Bent, thanks, you keep scoping those two out and I'll keep a watch out on this end. I almost have this thing figure out… now all I need to do is talk to Jorge Fox, I just hope he isn't dead yet… for all of our sakes." Sly said before hanging up. Bentley sat back in his chair frowning at Sly's cryptic and terrifying message. This entire situation was spiraling out of control… just like when the gang went after the Clockwerk parts. He shook his head and continued searching for more information…

Sly was busy rewriting all of his notes onto a legal pad for reference later. Once he was finished he erased and washed the dry erase board before placing it back on the door. He sat down next to the sleeping Aurora on the couch and softly stoked her bright colored feathers as he laid his head back and closed his eyes needing to rest…

**At Joseph Macavity's Compound…**

People were scurrying about in every direction. Joseph was sitting in a black licorice colored desk chair with a scowl on his handsome cheetah face that could have stopped the heart of the devil himself. He growled in his frustration. His glorious plans! They were ruined! Well, at least Project N.W.O was not disrupted but it was definitely going to have to be postponed. His wicked daughter had one of her cronies on the inside of the hospital kill the Amarianni woman and let Justin, who was supposed to be watching over the girl, take the fall! Now, he had the start of an uprising on his hands, a dead agent, and a previously thought missing IAB agent en route to the hospital! He let out an enraged snarl as he slammed his fist down on the glass desk he was sitting at. The glass beneath his fist cracked from the force. He knew about her twisted plan to snag Cooper for herself. His men had disrupted that plan when they attacked the Cooper residence; he understood that now. But his little "princess" was going to pay dearly for this transgression… oh my yes. "But in what way? Ah, I know, a life for a life… that will be a prefect payment. But who? Cooper's pretty daughter? No, this must hurt… she does not care what happens to the child as long as her plan works like it should. Ah ha! Cooper himself! This is what she has been slaving over these many long years! I can only imagine the pain that will be dealt to my daughter by _his_ death!" thought Macavity. He leaned forward, smiling for the first time that day, and pressed a button on his intercom.

"Yes, Mr. Macavity." answered a feminine voice.

"Shantel, my dear… could you send my killing squad to me?" he asked in an unusually polite voice.

"Of course, Mr. Macavity." Shantel replied. He then sat back and laughed like the maniac he was…

**Back at the hospital…**

Sly started as his pager went off. He looked at it and groaned. It was Carmelita, she must have found her father. He slowly stood up and grabbed his notes before walking out the door and alerting one of the nurses that someone need to sit with his kids. After that he spirited down to his office to put his notes away and then continued his sprint down to the ER. There was already a small group of doctors waiting at the hospital's entrance. After a few moments, a familiar red convertible pulled up to the door. The nurses did not waste anytime as they quickly guided the stretcher outside to the waiting vehicle. With the help of a few doctors, including Sly, the nurses were able to load the badly injured Jorge Fox onto the stretcher and sped back into the hospital. Sly hung back momentarily to check on Carmelita.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently. Carmelita was staring straight ahead into the glass doors that her father just went through with a far off look on her beautiful face. She slowly nodded before speaking.

"I-I need to call mi familia, they would want to know but how would they get here? Aiiieee… oh mamá! She's all the way in Madrid how am I going to get her here¡Que lastima! Oh what am I going to do? I-I-I-" she could not even finish for sobbing. Sly just gathered the over-wrought vixen in his arms and soothed her the best way he knew how.

"Shhh… shhh… It will be all right, Carmelita. Calm down… ¿Debes conservar la calma y tienes que estás valiente por la familia, sí?" he asked. (You must remain calm and you have to stay strong for your family, yes?). She dried her face and muttered a quiet 'yeah, you're right…' before taking a step back and regarding Sly. She was so confused… why was she always in a bind following Cooper around but yet he was the only one who ever seemed to be able to get her out of trouble. She closed her eyes wearily and sighed.

"Sly, I need to get my family out here pronto but I am little short on dinero…" she admitted softly. Sly smiled, he was glad he could finally help Carmelita out.

"I'll tell ya what gorgeous, you call up your family and just let me know where they are coming from and I'll make sure that they are on the earliest flight possible to Paris!" said Sly. Carmelita gaped like a fish, she still was not used to Sly's generosity.

"But Sly, you don't have to, I mean-" Carmelita tried to protest but she was cut off by Sly reassuring her,

"Look, es no problema! I _do _get paid for doing my job… and quite well, too!" Carmelita snorted with laughter and shook her sable haired head.

"Okay, Okay, you win Cooper! Fine I'm calling, I'm calling!" she pretended to grouse but she smiled as she flipped open her cell and began the pain-staking task of calling her family and alert them to her father's plight. Carmelita in a deep breath as the phone started to ring. "Damn…" she thought as her mother picked up on the first ring.

"Uhhh… Dega mamá. Pues… Llamaba decirte que papá se fatalizó…" Carmelita said quietly her Spanish slightly hypnotic to Sly's ears. (Hello mamá. Well… I was calling to tell you that daddy was seriously wounded.) Carmelita winced and held the phone away from her ear. Sly could hear her mother's heart-breaking cries on the other end of the phone. After a moment, Carmelita placed the phone's receiver back to her ear. "Mamá, relax! I am going to send a plane ticket for you to get you to Paris, okay? All right. Adios mamá." She then closed her phone let out a weary sigh. "That was the worst phone call I ever had to make." Sly laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. She smiled in thanks. "I can safely say that anyone that has to be flown in is coming in from Madrid," said Carmelita with a teasing edge to her voice.

"Ah, okay… how many would be "coming in" as you so articulately put it?" he shot back with a grin. Carmelita frowned a moment before she saw the teasing look in the raccoons eyes and relaxed. But she continued to stare at him for a moment. The iridescent light from inside the hospital was shining on Sly's face in such a way that Carmelita swore she saw spots on his face but they were a dark gray and almost blended in perfectly with his fur's grayscale color scheme to the point that they were almost invisible. After a moment she softly exclaimed,

"Lugares?!" (Spots?!) Sly frowned in confusion.

"What?" he asked as he led her back into the hospital.

"Your face… there are spots… er, I mean there are spots _on_ your face." She answered a tad bit flustered. Sly chuckled quietly.

"Yes, I inherited them from my mother. But they're practically invisible to anybody that does not know they are there. But you will probably start to see more of them now that you have noticed that they are there." He said matter-of-factly as he shrugged. The sliding doors opened with a slight whirring sound as the couple re-entered the hospital.

"Does Desiree know about you being a half-bred?" asked she tentatively for fear of offending him.

"Yes, she does. It was one of her favorite pastimes when she was younger, to try and count all of my visible spots when I had fallen asleep on the couch." He said with a small fond smile. Carmelita smiled too. "Desiree has a few spots of her own, too. Those freckles are not really freckles, they're a visible spot pattern, and the rest of the spots are a deep red that blends into her fur like mine do. Speaking of Desiree, I changed her surgery from 2 days from now to tomorrow since the hospital was not sure about how much longer the heart would last. "

"Oh…" said Carmelita as they reached Sly's office. They walked into the room and did not waste anytime getting to work. Sly sat behind his desk and started typing away on his black, flat panel computer. After a moment, he called Carmelita over.

"Okay, how many people do you need flown in?" he asked as he continued stare at his computer screen. Carmelita furrowed her brow in thought a moment before she started listing the family members that she knew would come. Sly just nodded and put in the in the necessary information needed to order the tickets. Once that was taken care of, Sly allowed Carmelita use his computer and telephone to alert the rest of her family to the problem. Needless to say, they were all ready to come to Paris without any reservations. In the midst of Carmelita's calls Sly felt a slight tickling sensation at his waist. Sly reached down to his waist and looked at his pager. He gave a regretful smile before he said, "Look they need me in surgery… and…"

"Don't worry about it, Ringtail… I have things under control here and I'll go check on the girls, too." She said as she waved a dismissive hand at him. He grinned wryly but exited the room. He made his way through the hospital towards the operating room. Once inside, he scrubbed, and took a few steadying deep breaths. He walked in to the main operating room and was instantly greeted by a nurse, who began to fill Sly in on the patient's condition.

According to the nurse, Jorge Fox was in serious, maybe even critical, condition. There were 3rd and 2nd burns upon 40 of his body. He had lost his left eye when a piece of chain link punctured it. But thankfully it had become lodged in a nerve and did not injure the brain. His brain was swelling and the pressure caused by the swelling brain could cause brain damage. His right leg might also have to be taken do to the massive amount burns and destruction of the bone structure cased by the blast. A quick MRI had revealed that there were a couple internal injures in his abdominal area. The doctors were cutting a hole in the top of the fox's skull to insert a syringe into his head to siphon off some of the fluid around the fox's brain. Sly had been called in to monitor Jorge's heart. Sly stood in the background watching the team of doctors and nurses work to save Jorge Fox's life. Sly suddenly felt very strange… everything around him started to blur as if he were zoning out. Then his vision focused right back in and Sly felt fully awake for the first time in he was not sure how long. He stared at Jorge Fox as a realization hit him. He and Jorge Fox were complete strangers to one another… sure Sly knew his name but they were still complete strangers. The same thing happened between Carmelita and him. When they first met each other, they were complete strangers, but over the course of working together, they got to know each other. Then as time went by they became more significant to each other for example, they had a child together now… albeit unwillingly. Then Desiree was also a stranger to him at one point, but now she was his daughter… Aurora Vencinette was once just a stranger that he helped at victimized a theme park but now she was his daughter, too. Arpeggio was once a stranger that became an enemy when he and Sly were on the opposite sides about what to do with Clockwerk… but he was now known as the biological father of his adopted daughter. This one situation forced so many strangers together that seemed to have so little in common that it was impossible to fathom them really having such a huge impact on each other's lives. This brought back a memory from about a year ago…

"_Daddy?" called Desiree. _

"_Yes, Desiree?" Sly answered as he continued to wash the dishes as Desiree completed her homework._

"_What does 'stran-ger' mean?" she asked as she stared at the word in her textbook._

"_Stranger, well it is someone you do not really know well." Sly said._

"_Oh, then does that mean that we used to be strangers, daddy?" she asked as she stared intently at Sly's back. Sly was shocked. Desiree always asked these types of mind-blowing questions that always left Sly stunned._

"_Well… I suppose so Des, yeah; I guess you could say that we were strangers when we first met. But we are not strangers anymore are we?" he asked with a smile as he dried his hands while staring at his daughter. She smiled before she jumped out of her chair and ran over to hug him, saying,_

"_Nope!" she then stood back and asked, "Were Carmelita, Bentley, Murray, and you all strangers like us?" Sly grinned saying,_

"_Yep, we were all once strangers just like us…"…_

Sly snapped back to reality when he heard a nurse rushed past him carrying dirty towels. Sly leaned up against the wall waiting until he was needed to repair the blood vessels in Jorge Fox's abdomen…

**In Desiree's Room about two hours later…**

Carmelita had completed making her calls and had returned to check on Desiree and Aurora. She smiled as she walked in to find the two niñas fast asleep. She stared at Desiree's slumbering form fondly. Carmelita felt a rush of emotion as she recalled the fact that the hybrid vixen was her daughter. She walked over to the bed and stroked the child's hair softly. She felt absurdly happy although her father was in intensive surgery right about now. She leaned down and soft nuzzled the girl's face. Desiree groaned softly and slowly opened her eyes.

"Ms. Carmelita?" she asked as she stared at Carmelita. Carmelita smiled at the young girl.

"Hola, Desiree! How do you feel?" she asked.

"Sleepy…" muttered the girl. Carmelita laughed. This kid definitely was a handful. "Where's daddy?" she asked quietly when she noticed that her father was missing.

"He had to go to work on someone's heart." answered Carmelita.

"Oh…" said the young girl as she stifled a yawn. Carmelita frowned as she began to notice how frail and thin Desiree had become. Her hair had lost its shine and was slowly turning snow white in some places. Her young eyes were dull and looked black under the harsh florescent light in the room.

"Desiree, dulcinea (sweetheart), I want to apologize for what my sister and I said earlier. It wasn't nice and I did not intend to hurt your feelings, hija." said Carmelita as she remembered the discussion that she and Sly had. Desiree looked at her quizzically for a moment.

"Why did you call me hija, I thought I was not your daughter?" asked Desiree. Carmelita mentally slapped herself. It should have been obvious that Sly had probably taught Desiree to speak Spanish, since he was pretty proficient at it. Carmelita looked down at the bed for a moment before swallowing nervously and saying,

"Well, it seems I have stuck my foot in my mouth." Desiree's eyes grew huge for a moment before she burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Carmelita at first was puzzled by the vixen's reaction but the more she thought on what she had said, the more she understood. The young child had taken Carmelita's words literally and thought that the vixen had actually stuck her foot in her mouth. Carmelita had to giggle at that thought herself. "No, no, that is not what I meant. I meant that I had unintentionally said something other than what I meant to say."

"Oh… but that was still funny!" quipped the girl. Carmelita smiled warmly at the vixen out of fondness for her and because the woman had just noticed that her daughter had the same facial structure as her.

"But do you forgive me?" asked Carmelita after a moment. Desiree flashed her a huge smile and said,

"Yep!" Carmelita reached forward and hugged her daughter, loving her more and more with every minute that passed.

"Do you want to hear a secret?" Carmelita whispered in the vixen's twitching ear. The girl nodded her head slowly completely intrigued by the idea. "Yo soy tu madre…" She felt her child stiffen and mutter,

"Mamá?" The way the child said that one word broke Carmelita's heart. There was so much pain in it. Carmelita vowed right then and there that she would never hurt her daughter ever again if she could help it.

"Have you come to take me away from daddy?" Desiree asked suddenly. Carmelita's eyes widened in surprise. She leaned back so that she could look Desiree in the face as she shook her head no.

"Why would you think such a thing?" she asked her daughter. Desiree looked down at the bed sheets as her small hands began to fidget with the sheets.

"There was a letter from my mother that said that she was going to take me from daddy. I did not know why…" she said quietly without looking up.

"Well, obviously, who ever wrote that letter was a fake." Carmelita said as she hugged her daughter once more. Desiree nodded…

**Back with Sly…**

Sly had been working diligently to repair the damaged blood vessels in Jorge's abdomen. Sly stopped long enough to wipe his face on a towel provided by one of the nurses before continuing. At this rate, it was going to take him another hour to complete this delicate operation. Not to mention that the fox's burns had yet to be evaluated and cleaned. On top of that the fox's left eye had not been cleaned up either and his head still needed to be closed back up. The next couple of hours were definitely going to be long. He looked down at the ruptured blood vessel he was currently closing up and sighed… Two long hours later… Sly had finally completed his portion of the surgery and the other details of the surgery were being taken care of at that particular moment.

The head surgeon turned to Sly and said,

"Could you go give the Fox family an update on Jorge's condition, since it has been four hours." Sly nodded even as his nerves caused him to gulp. Sly turned to leave the room. Sly wiped at his face in agitation as he exited the operating room. He removed his gloves and mask as he made his way into the waiting room. Sly stopped at the door and looked out the window at all the people that came to support Carmelita and her family. He could see Carmen and Carmelita comforting their mother on a sofa. He let out a huge breath and opened the door. They all looked up at him with expectant faces.

"Is my father…okay?" asked Carmelita timidly. Sly shook his head.

"I truly regret having to tell you this but your father has sustained a serious amount of injuries." Sly said quietly.

"What kinds of injuries?" asked Carmelita's mother on the verge of tears. Sly sighed heavily, this was definitely not his night.

"Well, the most serious was the vast of amount of head trauma he had received. We had to go in and manually remove fluid from around his brain to relieve some of the pressure off of his brain, which had swollen due to injury. And…"

"And…?" urged Carmen, her worry causing her to be impatient. Sly sighed and continued,

"He has also suffered 2nd and 3rd burns on about 40 of his body. Most of the third degree burns are on his face and right leg. The doctors are working diligently to repair the right leg but we are not sure if we will be able to save it. Then there is the matter of—"

"You mean that he may lose it?!" choked out Carmelita's mother. Sly sighed.

"There is only a 30 percent chance that we can actually save the leg…" A long wailing moan escaped the poor vixen's lips. Sly's heart finally shattered. He could not take seeing the ones that Carmelita cared for in so much pain but he knew that Jorge Fox's chance of losing his right leg was not the worst of it.

"Is there anything else?" asked a weary Carmelita. In Sly's opinion Carmelita looked the worst of all the wailing and moaning Foxs. Her eyes held a defeated and haunted look. Her eyes were dry though, sadly, because she had no more tears to cry.

"Yes," Sly cringed when he heard a high pitched wail escape the lips of what had to be Jorge Fox's sister before he continued, "Jorge Fox lost his left eye due to a piece of chain link that went through his eye. I also had to go in and repair massive internal damage to blood vessels in his abdomen." Sly could feel tears in his eyes as he watched the poor Fox family bemoan and grieve for the suffering of their loved one. "I'm sorry." Sly felt that an apology was all he could say that could hold any real actual emotional weight because everything else sounded hollow and insincere. Just as he was about to speak again, another nurse rushed through the door saying,

"Dr. Cooper! W-We need you now! The patient just had an aortic aneurysm rupture on the table! He's going to bleed out!" she gasped. Sly's eyes widened and he growled out,

"Like to hell he is!" Sly turned on his heel without another word and rushed back into the OR, but not before his sensitive ears picked up the distressed howl from Carmelita. Sly anger boiled over. His daughters… his love's father… the sanities of both Carmelita and himself… Joseph Macavity must pay! He would… Sly would see to it. Sly personally had never wanted to kill unless he had to but this was the first time that he had the feeling if wanting someone dead…

**5 more miserable hours later… **

Sly sighed heavily as he sewed the last of the stitches in Jorge Fox's chest shut. He said a soft smile on his face but no one could tell because of the mask he was wearing. Jorge Fox was going to live despite the fact that he had nearly bled out. The nurses were pumping more blood into Jorge's system at that very moment. Sly pulled off his blood soaked gloves and threw them away before heading back outside to the waiting room to tell the family that Jorge was going to be alright. As soon as he walked through the door all of the tear-stained faces turned to him.

"Jorge Fox is going to live," said Sly, "but it will be a few more hours before the surgery is complete." The family nodded but was quietly relieved that Jorge was going to be alright.

"Thank you…" said Carmelita's mother, her voice filled with relief.

"I was only doing my job, ma'am… really…" Sly said humbly. Carmelita offered him a slim smile in response. He nodded and left the room. Since Sly was no longer needed in the OR, he made his way outside to get some fresh air. The moon was nearly full and bright while the stars were visible in the few miles of sky he could see.

All of a sudden Sly's sensitive hearing picked up the sound of, what he believed to be, an approaching V8 engine. He cautious looked to his left and his eyes practically bulged out of his head as he dove out of the way of a black Hummer careening madly towards him. The large armored vehicle tore through the back doors of the hospital spraying glass and metal everywhere. Nurses and doctors alike scrambled for cover. Sly slowly picked himself up off the ground. He was now standing to the left of the vehicle wondering what was going on Paris. It seemed like everyone around him were going crazy! But he did not have time to ponder on this observation long, because at that moment the truck backed out of the gaping hole it had made in the doors and turned to face Sly, its engine growling like a predator that had cornered its prey. "Uh oh…" was the only thing Sly had a chance to utter before the truck charged towards him. He spun on his heel and started running. He started moving even faster as the sound of bullets hitting the pavement reached his ears. He felt the all too familiar adrenaline rush as his feet pounded the pavement one after the other without him even having to think about it. Surprisingly enough Sly was outrunning the powerful automobile but barely. As Sly started to turn a corner he cried out in pain as a bullet grazed his shoulder. He made it around the corner just as another bullet buried itself in the side of the wall he had just turned. Sly leaned up against the wall and groaned as he gripped his injured shoulder. He pulled his hand back down to see his own blood glistening under the moon's beam. His head jerked back up at the sound of screeching tires as the truck sped around the corner. Sly instantly began his sprint again despite the pain. "I can't die here, not yet, Desiree… needs me." He thought as he pushed himself to go faster. But it seemed all in vain, because he feel the heat radiating off of the truck's grill like a hot sticky breath on the back of his neck as car slowly closed the gap between the two of them…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Well, finally… that's it… WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!! It took me one month, 20 days, and 8,327 words to update! I am truly sorry for the wait! But I hope you liked it and here is some of chapter 15:

_A young nurse rushed into the waiting room, looking frantic. She looked at Carmelita and seemed to gasp in relief before exclaiming,_

"_A huge vehicle just crashed through the back doors of the hospital and Dr. Cooper is missing at the most pressing moment!" Carmelita walked up to the nurse and asked,_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Cooper's daughter, her heart is failing…"…_

Ta ta for now!!!


	15. Chapter 15

Hi! I cannot believe I am almost through with this story! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this that makes me so happy. I will probably try to wrap this up in about 3 or so more chapters. This chapter will not be as long as the other one was but it won't be too short.

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, Adolf Hisser, Margalo, Amarianni, and Aurora Vencinette, Mark, and Dr. Lamar Akimji belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 15**

Sly was running… out of time and options. The truck was right behind him and he was about to hit a wall. He had to think! But in his seemingly last moments all that seemed to come to mind were the many different techniques that he had learned from the _Thievius Raccoonus,_ although none of them could help him get out of the mess he was currently in. Then he remembered something… Slytankhamen's Invisibility technique… What if Sly could modify it to create a whole new technique? Sly thought about it and quickly came up with an idea. Moving objects could move through Sly but Sly could not force himself to move through objects. What if he could devise a way to _make_ himself move through objects? He waited until he was a few mere meters from wall before he focused on becoming invisible and allowed his body to sink through the microscopic holes in the wall. He kept on going until he ran straight through the wall. It worked! Sly was currently standing in the lobby of a hotel behind the receptionist's desk. Not a moment later he heard a deafening crash and the wall crumble a bit as some of the bricks gave way on the other side. Sly slowly stepped back through the wall to stand next to the smoking Hummer whose front end was crumpled up and torn open like a soda can. Sly winced when he saw a huge splatter of blood on the cracked windshield. He was sure that someone was either dead or injured but he was not sure if all of his pursuers were. So, he did not waste any more time and headed back towards the hospital…

**With Carmelita…**

Carmelita was still trying in vain to calm her distraught mother. Carmelita finally gave up and allowed her older sister to take over. She slowly stood and began to check on the other family members and see if anyone needed something to drink or eat. After a few moments, Carmelita excused herself to go to the bathroom. Just as she returned, her sister was getting up to leave.

"Carm, I must return to the office but do keep me posted." She said as she walked up to Carmelita and hugged her. Just then, a young nurse rushed into the waiting room, looking frantic. She looked at Carmelita and seemed to gasp in relief before exclaiming,

"A huge vehicle just crashed through the back doors of the hospital and Dr. Cooper is missing at the most pressing moment!" Carmelita walked up to the nurse and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"Cooper's daughter, her heart is failing…" said the young nurse. Carmelita felt her stomach writhe painfully. "I'm losing my baby again!" she shrieked in the back of her mind. Just as Carmelita was beginning to panic, another nurse came rushing in saying,

"We found him but he was injured in the aftermath of that car hitting the back doors. They are sewing him up as we speak and he _insisted_ that the nurse not numb him up because he had surgery to perform. Brave soul, 5 stitches, no medication, and he is still going--" but Carmelita did not hear what else was said because right then she became completely overwhelmed and lost her grip on consciousness.

Carmen watched her sister sway and then crumple to the floor. The two nurses reacted quickly; one of them went to grab smelling salts while the other ones fell to her knees and began to shake Carmelita, trying to revive the unconscious vixen. After a few moments, Carmelita slowly started to come to. She was eased into a sitting position and she realized that she was surrounded by her concerned family and two nurses that she did not know.

"What happened?" asked a still woozy Carmelita. Carmen spoke up first,

"You fainted, dear." She reached down and helped Carmelita to her feet.

"Carmen, I need for you to come with me for a moment." said Carmelita as she slowly made her way out of the waiting room. Carmen gave her sister and a strange yet concerned look before following her out. The two sisters entered the restroom and Carmelita started to check the stalls to make sure that there was no one else in the restroom.

"What is wrong Carmelita?" Carmen asked. Carmelita swallowed. But she did finally opened her mouth and asked,

"What would you do if I said that Cooper is probably working on your niece's heart, right now?" Carmen frowned in confusion for a moment before the truth hit her. Then her brown eyes widened in disbelief.

"Hermana, are you saying that Desiree is…" her voice trailing off. Carmelita nodded with a wan smile.

"The test came back positive." She said. Carmen closed her eyes and groaned. Carmelita had gravitated towards one of the many sinks in the restroom.

"Well, hermana, have you decided what you are going to do?" asked Carmen. Carmelita stared blankly at her own reflection as she leaned against the sink sideways. Carmelita then shook her head and gave a shrug. "What do you mean, you don't know?! This child needs you. This child needs a family and a more stable and… er, 'structured' life." Carmelita whirled around to face her older sister at that comment. She knew exactly what Carmen was hinting at and she did not like it one bit.

"No Carmen, I am not going to take Desiree from Sly! That would be unfair!" she exclaimed. Carmen was shocked at what she just heard.

"Unfair! How so? You would give her a better chance of fitting into society…" Carmen tried to reason. Carmelita was not hearing it.

"Sly loves her just as much as I do! He gave up his heritage for her… he feeds her… clothes her. He is all she has ever known for who knows how long! That is all Sly's attention is focused on, Carmen, that little girl. You weren't there when I saw him cry… He worked multiple jobs to support Desiree and himself, he does not even draw money from welfare! He is completely self sufficient! Plus, he would be the only one who could truly understand and properly raise her… because he is something I am not…" explained Carmelita.

"Which is?" asked Carmen skeptically.

"A half-breed, Carmen. Sly's mother and father were not the same species, either. He alone could understand what her life would be like and teach her how to overcome the obstacles that would be in it. If I completely removed Sly Cooper from the picture, as you were 'diligently' hinting at, we would be crippling her for life… plus, there is the simple fact that he is her father. Which means that she needs him just as much as she needs me," said Carmelita softly as she leaned her back against the sink and looked down again. Although Carmen hated to admit it, Carmelita was right. But the child would be exposed to great danger, if she was kept close to the former Master Thief but she would be heavily handicapped if she were completely separated from him. But shuffling the girl back and forth between them was not going to make the situation any better either. The only logical solution would be for Cooper and Carmelita to get together. But this plan also had a flaw. Carmelita was already hinting at the possibility of there being something between the two of them. But Carmen could see that whatever 'it' was, was very unstable, so this could also cause trouble. Carmen sighed.

"Hermana, this is a very complex problem you have on your hands… My best advice is to not worry about it now. Wait until all this mess blows over first, then you and Sly must talk… for your daughter's sake." said Carmen as her sister looked up at her. "Aiiiieee… I feel a headache coming on. Look, I really need to get back to work but I love you and call me with any news that includes my niece, too. Adios, sis." Carmen made a move towards the door and stopped at her sister's voice,

"Carmen, this stays between us and I love you, too…" Carmen smiled at her sister and nodded before heading out the door.

**Meanwhile with Sly…**

Sly slowly rotated his recently stitched shoulder as he walked towards his daughter's room. This was it… the moment that Sly had been practicing for. His body was trembling slightly as he reached for the doorknob. He slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. The nurse had already given Desiree a sleep inducing agent and she was already beginning to nod off. She was looking really pale and just plain sick. Her fur had no shine to it and her eyes had no light in them at all.

"Daddy, I feel funny." She said slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. He nodded as he came to her bedside.

"I know, sweetheart. The nurse gave you something to make you fall asleep. I am going to fix your heart now, but you have to go sleep first." said Sly.

"You mean like at Christmas, when Santa," she said before yawning, "comes?" Sly nodded with a smile.

"Sort of. But instead of presents, your heart will be fixed. But I may have a present for you when you wake up… if you are good." said Sly. He sighed as he watched her eyelids droop and her body go still as she nodded one final time before she slipped into dreamland. Sly nodded to the nurse and slowly let down the rails on her bed. He slowly unhooked her from the many machines she was attached to and with the aid of the nurse he lifted his daughter up and placed her on the operating bed that the nurse had just brought in a moment before. He began to push the bed and slowly wheeled his daughter from her old room…

**Meanwhile with Nautica Macavity…**

Right now, there were no clear words to describe the extent of the rage that Nautica Macavity was feeling at this particular moment. Her blundering, iniquitous father had attacked Sly Cooper in the open. This was a deliberate attack on _her_ territory! The first time he had interfered, it was an honest mistake but this time, he was shooting to kill. But just like in a duel he missed his chance to defeat her, which left her open to attack and kill his operation for good. She had never really needed any information from Whittaker; she just wanted to know if her father had anything else up his proverbial sleeve. She already knew of her father's plan to use _her _genetics program to create an advanced hybrid of some kind and use it to rid the world of half-breeds and their sympathizers. The simple-minded fool was still caught up in old, failed politics. As she typed furiously at her laptop, sending emails to her men telling them to prepare for an attack on her father's establishment, she grinned iniquitously. She, unlike her father, enjoyed taking the fight to her opponent herself rather than sending someone else to do her job. She would be in the lead when her men raided her father's laboratory. Just as she was finishing her message, her cell phone rang. She picked up the device and answered it.

"Hello," she sneered, hating the fact that she was being interrupted. Her fur nearly stood on end when she recognized the voice that greeted her.

"Hello _princess_…" purred Joseph Macavity maliciously. Nautica could barely restrain her anger.

"_Father_." She hissed back. Joseph Macavity laughed at the girl's obvious scorn.

"Now really, is that any way to speak to your father?" he teased on the other end of the line.

"As far as I am concerned, yes. After all, we do have history together… you are a simple sperm donor to me and all I have to do in return is just acknowledge the _disgusting _fact that you exist." She seethed. She then grinned in complete delight at her father's low growl of contempt.

"I should punish you for such insubordination, my _daughter_." He growled dangerously. Nautica threw her head back and laughed.

"If this threat is anything like your _earlier_ attempts, then I have nothing to worry about." purred the vixen mockingly. She could practically see her father bristling in indignation at that precise moment. But she did not have long to bask in her glory, because Joseph's smug voice came over the line again,

"I would laugh while you can, my dear, because it would be a shame if the Paris Memorial Hospital was leveled overnight…" Then the demonic cheetah just laughed and hung up the phone. Nautica growled vehemently at the device before throwing it across the room with so much force that it became embed in her blue wall…

**Later, In Macavity's lab…**

Margalo Vencinette was silently sitting in front of the plastic cell that Macavity was keeping his 'creation' prisoner. She had accidently stumbled upon this amazing creature while snooping around her husband's lab. She spoke with the hornet to discover that the insect's name was Suzuki. Since she met Suzuki a week ago, Margalo managed to sneak into the lab and speak with her for at least an hour every single night. Tonight, was no exception.

"Margalo-san, why did you marry, this Macavity person if he is not… as you put it, 'a good person'?" asked Suzuki in her normally quiet voice. Margalo looked down.

"Well Suzuki, my father and our gang were rivals with my _husband's_ gang and in order to save innocent lives, my father asked me to marry Macavity." said Margalo. Suzuki looked down, saddened by her new friend's predicament.

"I am—sorry for your misfortune, my friend." said the insect queen. Margalo smiled and thanked the woman for her sympathy but as she opened her mouth to speak again another sound cut her off. The was an earth rattling explosion that knocked Margalo off of her perch upon the examination table in front of Suzuki's prison. "Are you ok, Margalo-san?"

"Yes, I believe so." said the bird as she pushed herself off of the floor. The building shook again when another explosion rocked it to its very foundation. "The hideout must be under attack, this might be your only chance to escape, my friend." Margalo flew over to the console that controlled the plastic container that Suzuki was stuck in. As soon as the bird touched down in front of it the alarms within the building began blaring. Margalo instantly set to work opening the door. Now, usually there was an alarm rigged to the door but because of the alarms already going off, no one would pay any attention to the extra noise. After a few moments, the door swung open and the alarm within the room began to sound off as Suzuki stepped out of her prison.

"Be safe my friend!" said Suzuki as she flew out of the open door knocking over a guard in the process. Margalo followed closely on her new friend's heels as the two flew through hall after hall knocking over good number of confused guards in the process.

**Outside of Macavity's Lab…**

Nautica laughed as her men attacked and destroyed her father's lab. Revenge was definitely sweet for the vixen. She grinned wickedly as she pointed the barrel of her gun in face of her father's hit squadron leader and pulled the trigger two times. The bulldog just slumped over with his empty eye sockets dripping fluid. Nautica just stepped over him continued on into the building. But just as she went to blast the door open, the door flew open and a huge monstrosity knocked the vixen off of her feet. It continued on its way being followed closely by a smaller shape. Nautica quickly scrambled to her feet and squinted at the retreating figures. Then she took a step forward and felt something odd shaped beneath her shoe. She looked down and saw that she was standing on a feather. She instantly recognized the red, yellow, and green color pattern. It belonged to Margalo Vencinette, her father's legal concubine. Nautica always called the bird that because she had felt that the bird was not part of her family.

Nautica quickly brought her head back up to draw a bead on the fleeing figures, particularly Margalo. She fired off a shot and watches in satisfaction as the little bird's ascent stopped and quickly turned into a deadly descent. She smirked in satisfaction and turned back to her father's lab and followed her men inside. She had one more assassination to complete and nothing would between her and her objective.

As the vixen slowly made her way down the corridor, she quietly mused over what brought her to this particular moment and place. Her father had adopted her around the age 13 when he found her running an ATM scam near one of his hospital fronts. The soon-to-be mafia boss took her in and gave her anything and everything as long as she continued to put her ideas into his budding empire. As she grew older, Nautica grew smarter. She was moved into the research lab when her father's top researcher got whacked due to a bad deal. While working in the lab she discovered that she had been one of many babies that had been grown in tubes, literally. Macavity had been experimenting with actually growing embryos in homeostasis tubes. But the research team had been having trouble with getting the environment completely right for the embryos, so eventually, they died.

All of the experiments failed except for one, Nautica. When the research ethics board started to ask questions about the methods involved with experiment, Nautica was dumped into foster care and eventually ended up on the streets when no more families would take her in because of her record as a bad seed. As she grew up in bad foster homes, she developed a deep hatred of her biological parents for putting her in the predicament that she was in. So, when she discovered that Macavity had supplied the semen for her embryo, she instantly directed _all_ of her hatred towards him. So she dedicated the rest of her life to making Macavity miserable, without his knowing, of course. As she matured into a woman, she became bolder and let him know where she stood on their relationship. But now, she was about to get the ultimate revenge, she was going to kill her father.

**Back with Sly at the Hospital…**

Sly had left his daughter in the hands of the anesthesiology team about an hour ago, since then he had been trying to calm himself down before the actual surgery took place. He entered the scrub room with a heavy mind and an even heavier heart. As he scrubbed in, he was quietly praying,

"Please God, this is my one chance to save my daughter, please, please help me do my best." As he dried off, he heard the door open. In the doorway stood his the doctor that had mentored him. Dr. Lamar Akimji was the best cardiologist in the field. The lion was tall and albino. His fur was of the purest white and his pink eyes looked hard and cold. But despite his appearance, the lion was nothing but kind. "Dr. Akimji, sir, what are you doing here?" Sly began to worry as he noticed the downcast demeanor that his mentor wore.

"I am sorry but there is a patient that is requesting for you to be their surgeon." said Dr. Akimji. Sly could only pull at his hair in an effort not to scream. "I know how much this moment meant to you but you know the hospital's policy." Sly growled. The hospital Sly worked for was mostly about show and money, not saving as many lives as possible. Any doctor that was requested by a patient and was not in the middle of seeing to a patient, was required to see the patient that requested them. Sly thought that rule was more of a thief than he was, it was robbing people of their right to be treated fairly, because the rule was mainly instituted on the hope that it would attract more financially well off patients. Dr. Akimji placed a comforting hand Sly's recently slumped shoulder.

"What I am going to do? My daughter needs that operation within the next few hours or she dies! But now I have to leave and—"

"I will cover for you until you get back." said Dr. Akimji. Sly stopped in mid-rant and stared. His heart was pounding and he was already sweating.

"Really?" said Sly. The lion nodded softly and pushed Sly towards the door. "Wait, wait what is the problem with the patient?"

"Gunshot wound, they say all hell has broken lose at the Macavity place." Sly mouth dropped open comically. But then he countenance turned thoughtful. At that moment something Bentley had said to him rung in his head:

"_Sly, you are on fire tonight! Nautica Macavity is the daughter of one Joseph Macavity." said Bentley in barely restrained excitement. "According to this e-mail, they cannot stand each other! They don't trust each other either…"_

The former Master Thief grinned. Maybe taking out Nautica and Macavity will not be as hard he thought. Sly sighed as he thought about his daughter; he did not want to leave her. He signaled to his mentor to wait for him and walked into the main operating room. He walked to her hospital bed and picked up her tiny hand and held it. He stroked her downy hair and then leaned down and kissed her forehead gently. He gently scooped her into his arms and hugged her tightly to his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut, in an effort to hold back the tears that was in his eyes. He laid her back down and turned to the doctors in the room.

"I trust you all with her life, please take care of her." He said softly. Then he turned around and left the room. He headed out of the OR and into the ER in order to meet his newest patient. On his way there, he bumped into Carmelita. She was definitely surprised to see him.

"What are you doing here? Is there something else wrong with Desiree?" she asked frantically. Sly shook his head and replied,

"No. Of course not, well not that I know of. I was paged from the scrubbing room before the first incision was even made!" Sly put his hands up, and instantly finished the sentence, "Dr. Akimji took my place… she is taken care of." He growled in annoyance and Carmelita frowned in confusion. "Damn hospital politics! I am sick of playing their games… I cannot wait to get my own office! As soon as this mess blows over, I am so outta here! But where are you going or coming from?" he asked.

"I completely understand the whole politics thing," said Carmelita with sympathy, "as for me, I am going to see my father, one of the nurses told me that he was awake and wanted to see me." she said. Sly nodded.

"Oh really, that's good. But I have to go, the patient's going be here any minute, so I gotta go." Sly said as he continued on his way. Carmelita softly shook her head, muttered a quick prayer for Desiree, and continued to her father's room…

**In Jorge's Room…**

Jorge Fox groaned miserably as the pain medication started to wear off. He heard the door open and strained to see who had entered the room with his good eye. Finally his blurry vision cleared and he smiled as he recognized his youngest daughter. Carmelita smiled hesitantly. She gently sat in the chair beside the bed. She then reached over the rail and took his hand.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked. Jorge Fox sighed. He closed his eye because he could not bear to look at his daughter. He had violated his oath as an Interpol officer, as a policeman. He had lost his honor. What kind of an example was he setting for his girls? Oh well, what was done was done, all he could do was tell the truth and try to regain his honor. Then pray for forgiveness from the Most High and his family. He looked at Carmelita's concerned face.

"I am so sorry, mi hija… I have done something terrible." Carmelita's brows furrowed slightly in confusion.

"I don't understand papa," she said.

"He swore that he was going to kill you, I had no choice." He rasped. Carmelita did a double take.

"Who was going to kill me, padre?" she asked.

"Macavity, he had Justin assigned as your partner and promised me that you would not be harmed as long as I did everything he wanted me to do."

"What? But why?" Carmelita wailed. Jorge finally felt tears come into his eyes as he spoke,

"You were on the few cops that Macavity could not bully into working for him, you were too dedicated. So, he used his connections at Interpol to place an assassin among the officers. That assassin was Justin. So, I worked for Macavity, by incarcerating innocent officers and replacing them with Macavity's thugs. Over the years the guilt ate away my spirit, especially while I watched you struggle to keep your job during the days you had to chase Cooper around. It broke my heart, but I refused to let you die. I'll gracefully accept my punishment for what I did. I will gladly accept the hatred and scorn, as well." Carmelita shook her head in disbelief.

"Papa, you can't really mean that. You don't deserve—" Jorge slowly shook his bandaged head.

"Don't try to tell me what I deserve, Carmelita, because that is only between Dios and myself. Besides no one can punish nor hate me as much as I do." Said Jorge sagely. Carmelita could only nod at that assessment because she had walked that route many a time in her life. Carmelita turned away from her father to hide the tears that had trickled into wells of her eyes. Jorge mistook this as a sign of revulsion and felt his heart break. He took a deep breath and did something he had never done before. Carmelita turned back to father and was shocked beyond words to see him crying. She was so moved that the tears she was fighting to control began to cascade down her face. She began crying harder as her father's face contorted as he cringed in pain. She was about to run to get one of the nurses when her father reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Carmelita, there's something important I need to tell you," he gasped, "Nautica, she implanted some defect in Cooper's child…" Carmelita could only stare. "She did it on purpose so that she could control Cooper by dangling the girl's life over his head. But-but the plan—ack! Ahhh…" he screamed in agony. "The plan- was disrupted when Macavity attacked the Cooper residence and tried to kidnap the girl. This placed her in the hospital early, throwing all of Nautica's plans off line. Nautica killed Justin when he would not tell her about Macavity's plans and… for wrecking hers." Jorge's medical equipment started screaming and the fox started gasping for air.

"Papa! Let me go get help!" cried Carmelita, panic-stricken but Jorge would not let go.

"No, rem-mem-ber the Dis-Disney Ma-Ma-Massacre… it started it…a-a-a-all… Te a-amo, mi-mi cielo. Perdonáme… perdonáme… (I l-love you, my-my sky. Forgive me… Forgive me…)" With those final words, his voice started to fade away. (A/N: mi cielo or "my sky" is a term of endearment in Spain. Kinda like "sweetheart" in English). His grip on Carmelita's wrist relaxed and the light in his remaining eye grew dimmer.

"Nooo!" screamed Carmelita. She reached over the bed, hugged her father to her chest, and sobbed, "Te amo, papá! Te amo! Te perdono… te perdono… (I love, papa! I love you! I forgive you… I forgive you…)" Two nurses ran into the room and started working with Jorge's machines. They called for a doctor as Carmelita continued to cry…

**About an hour later with Sly…**

Sly worked efficiently and quickly to patch the gunshot wound in the small bird's chest. Although the raccoon's hands were focused on the stitching, his mind was focused on this rapidly changing mystery. The gunshot victim he was working on was Margalo Vencinette-Macavity, the wife of Joseph Macavity. According to the nurses that brought the bird in, she was shot as she fled from a firefight that had broken out at the Macavity Labs. He was almost done patching her up and as soon as he was done, he was going to call Bentley and tell him to prepare to infiltrate the Macavity stronghold and they would take out both Nautica and Joseph during the aftermath of their fight. Finally, Sly finished up the last stitch in the bird's chest and signaled for one of his residents to close her chest the rest of the way up.

He hurried left the room, stripping off his soiled clothing in the process. He washed his hands and ran to the nearest nurses' station. He asked one of the nurses he was most familiar with to borrow her cell phone. He quickly sent a small email to Bentley and a text to Carmelita to alert them to the situation. As soon as he was done doing that he quickly typed in the code that he routinely used to scramble his outgoing correspondence then deleted the text. He gave the phone back and sprinted back to the operating room where they were working on his daughter. He scrubbed in once again and entered the room. They had his baby's chest open and were about to remove her heart. He tapped Dr. Akimji on the shoulder and the lion gently moved out of his way. Sly picked up the scalpel and began to cut the heart from his child's chest. After thirty minutes, Sly careful removed the heart and placed it into an organ bin and one of the nurses took it away to dispose of it. Sly then took the replacement heart from the ice chest and placed it into the empty space in Desiree's chest cavity. Sly was shocked when he realized that the heart almost matched the space perfectly. He would spend the several hour sewing the heart into her chest. All the while Sly would be praying earnestly that it would work…

Outside of the Hospital…

Carmelita was sitting out on the sidewalk staring forlornly at the black concrete. She never felt so torn, confused, and lost before in her life. As an officer for Interpol, Carmelita had a certain rhythm to her life. She got in the morning, went to her office, looked over her current cases, wrapped up the loose ends on the old cases, and went home. Then it started all over again. Carmelita had almost stopped putting any effort into her work because it was no longer a challenge or worth the effort in her eyes. But now her routine life was turned on its ear. Her father was comatose, her daughter was in an operating room fighting to live, she was falling in love, and on top of all that she was in center of a Mafia family civil war. She stood back up as she felt a drizzle start. She shuffled back inside, with her ears and tail hanging low. She slumped back into Sly's office and flopped down into the one of the chairs in front of his plain dark oak desk. Her lazy eyes drifted over to the source of the only sound in the room: the clock. There was nothing special about it, it was circular with a plastic white rim on it. The numbers were large and black. The minute hand moved slowly and stately around the clock as if it were counting down something important. As the ominous ticking of the clock began to grate on Carmelita's nerves, she turned to her thoughts as a distraction.

12:11am …

I wonder what that clock is counting down to.

12:12am…

I hope papa wakes up soon.

12:13am…

I cannot imagine my life without him.

12:14am…

My life… hmmm… what life?

12:15am…

Fifteen minutes have passed since this new day began and what have I been doing? Daydreaming!

12:16am…

Oh well, I have about six hours and more than thirty minutes until I am due at work… which is basically all that my "life" consisted of until this point in time… that is a comforting thought…

12:17am…

My life almost resembles me washing my hair in shower every morning: lather, rinse, and _repeat_… over and over and over and over and over…

12:18am…

What in the hell am I waiting on?

12:19am…

Is it just me or is that clock getting louder?

12:20am…

Maybe this is what it feels like to slowly go insane…

"Okay! That is it!" snapped Carmelita as she jumped out of the chair and started pacing back and forth in the room. She was very tense, nervous, and agitated. Finally, growing tired of the silence she pulled out her cell phone and intended to call her sister but as soon as soon as she looked at the screen she noticed that she had a new text message. She did not recognize the number but she opened it anyway out of curiosity. It was from Sly, there was a firefight taking place at the new Macavity Research Labs. As soon as she saw the name Macavity, she started seeing red. This was all _her _fault! Her daughter was in surgery and her father was in a coma due that bitch! She was going to pay. Even the clock seemed to agree with her assessment, because the second hand seemed to sound out her name in syllables as it made its way around the clock face.

Nau-ti-ca… Nau-ti-ca… Nau-ti-ca… The sound continue increase in volume along with the tense pressure in the vixen's head until Carmelita felt something inside of her snap. Then there was silence. Then a deep menacing laugh echoed through the hollow room. Carmelita had finally figured out what the clock was counting down to… Nautica's complete annihilation and the fact that Carmelita was going to give it to her…

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**That's it! Sorry it took so long! My computer broke and my internet's been down but I am done now! Here's a long snippet of the next chapter to make up for the lateness.**

… _Sly finally finished the last stitch on the heart. Now, all he had to do was restart the heart and his daughter would have a second chance at life. He slowly reached down and gently thumped the heart with his finger. Nothing happened… Sly's heart painfully squeezed in his chest. No! This had to work, it was her only chance! He motioned for one of the doctors to bring him the probe. The miniature device had a small bulb on the end and it sent a small electric shock into the heart. He moved forward again and said,_

"_200ccs…" He shocked the heart again. There was still no change on the monitor. Sly was fighting back tears as he begged softly, "Come on Des, don't give up yet!" He nodded to the nurse standing next to the probe's console and she turned the dial to 300. He shocked the heart again. Still no change… The nurse turned the dial to the last setting, 500… if this did not work, only a miracle could save her. He shocked the heart again. The whole room held their breath… there… was… still no change. Sly fought back a sob but the tears still fell… he laid the probe down on the table and shook his head. Dr. Akimji stepped beside him and asked softly,_

"_Do you want to call it? Or should I?" Sly shook his head no. He was fighting just to stay on his feet. But somehow Sly managed to say two words:_

"_Call it…" The nurse near the probe machine sighed and said,_

"_Patient's time of death…"…_

**That's it… did Desiree really die or is there a chance for a miracle? We shall see, as long as you guys do not kill me first…**


	16. Chapter 16

Hi again! I cannot believe I am almost through with this story! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this that makes me so happy. I will be wrapping this up in 3 more chapters. Quick note, I have re-edited all of my earlier chapters and replaced them with the newly edited versions. None of the story line has changed I just cleaned up some of the mistakes. Also, I thought you all would be pleased to know that I have started on the first chapter of the Strangers Like Us sequel: Second Impressions. **Please read!! I have created a poll for the next story I should upload after the completion of this fanfic; please visit my profile and cast your vote. Instructions for voting are on my profile page. Thanks! You can also leave your votes in a review as well, I just need votes!**

**So far the results are:**

**Naruto: 0**

**Kingdom Hearts: 3**

**Stranger's Like Us sequel: 7**

**YUGiOh!: 0**

**Surprise Us: 4**

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, Adolf Hisser, Margalo, Amarianni, and Aurora Vencinette, Mark, Shadow, Suzuki, and Dr. Lamar Akimji belong to me, and whoever came up with idea of Carmen Fox, she belongs to them which I believe is Kitty Petro.

**Chapter 16**

**In the operating room with Sly…**

Sly finally finished the last stitch on the heart. Now, all he had to do was restart the heart and his daughter would have a second chance at life. He slowly reached down and gently thumped the heart with his finger. Nothing happened… Sly's heart painfully squeezed in his chest. No! This had to work, it was her only chance! He motioned for one of the doctors to bring him the probe. The miniature device had a small bulb on the end and it sent a small electric shock into the heart. He moved forward again and said,

"200ccs…" He shocked the heart again. There was still no change on the monitor. Sly was fighting back tears as he begged softly, "Come on Des; don't give up yet!" He nodded to the nurse standing next to the probe's console and she turned the dial to 300. He shocked the heart again. Still no change… The nurse turned the dial to the last setting, 500… if this did not work, only a miracle could save her. He shocked the heart again. The whole room held their breath… there… was… still no change. Sly fought back a sob but the tears still fell… he laid the probe down on the table and shook his head. Dr. Akimji stepped beside him and asked softly,

"Do you want to call it? Or should I?" Sly shook his head no. He was fighting just to stay on his feet. But somehow Sly managed to say two words:

"Call it…" The nurse near the probe machine sighed and said,

"Patient's time of death…" Then Sly heard it… a soft thump. He looked up and nearly started to bawl. He had to grab onto Dr. Akimji for support. Desiree's heart had begun to beat again. With each beat, the pumping grew stronger. She was going to be alright, his daughter was going to live. Even as the nurses began cleaning up and the other doctors and interns moved forward to stitch up his daughter's chest, Sly made a beeline for the door. As soon as he passed through the doors, he fell on his knees and practically howled as a sob clawed its way out of his chest. Tears saturated his face and he finally collapses against the wall. He had barely registered that Dr. Akimji had wrapped his arms around his shoulders. The kind feline gentleman lifted Sly up and slowly led him from the room…

**With Carmelita…**

Carmelita had finally regained some of her composure but she was still seething with rage. She stormed out of Sly's office. Her body was twitching from her head to her feet. There was nothing but adrenaline running through her blood. It acted as the fuel for her ever blazing anger. Nautica and her homicidal, mental father were behind all of this! She came across the mangled remains of the hospital's back doors. She growled as she thought about Sly getting hurt and then that made her think about Rochelle and how she nearly killed him! She felt like screaming. They would pay; Carmelita would die to make sure of it. She finally picked her way through the broken glass and twisted metal and went to the parking lot. Her red convertible was parked a few rows from the entrance. She deftly hopped over the door and started the vehicle. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied the dried blood on her passenger seat. Hours earlier her father was slouched in that seat slowly bleeding to death. He was that latest casualty caused by the deranged vixen. Carmelita growled and threw the car into gear. She wiped the car out its parking space and shot out of the parking lot. As she drove along, she tried to piece together this rapidly growing mystery that she, finally, realized that she was an integral part of.

As she neared the suspected facility, she heard the sound of gunfire and jumped out of her car. Her convertible was parked in an alley a little ways from the crime scene. She looked up at the wall in front of her and had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. She blinked repeatedly as she had a flashback…

…_She held the bundle closer to her chest. She began to look around trying to find anyway out but she was trapped for real unless… she could reach that ladder. The ladder was part of a fire escape for the building she was behind. She ran to the ladder and began to ascend it with one hand holding the bundle. She made it to the fire escape. She blazed up the frozen steps as fast as her frozen feet would allow. When she reached the top she heard the car stop and people start to get out. She didn't stick around to let them catch up instead she took off running again. The bundle against her chest began to move slightly… _

Carmelita was jarred back to reality, when she spotted a moving shadow deeper in the alleyway. She pulled the gun from its holster. It wasn't her normal shock pistol but her father's handgun that the doctors had given to her when they return his unsoiled possessions back to her. She decided that she would use it to destroy the very person that nearly destroyed him.

"Halt! ¡Detenga!" Carmelita called out. The figure looked up, or at least Carmelita thought they did, before they raced up the ladder. Carmelita swore and raced up the ladder after the suspect. She reached the roof just as the suspect was clearing the jump to the next building. Carmelita tore across the roof with the every intention of closing the gap between herself and her fleeing adversary. Against her will, her mind thrust another image into her eyes.

…"_Shhhh…be still little one, it will be all right." She whispered as she continued moving. She had to jump a few short distances between the buildings to keep moving…_

She growled, shook her head, and kept moving forward. The gap between the two moving figures continued to shrink as Carmelita pushed her legs to go faster. Now that they were out of the dark alley, Carmelita could see her prey better. She could tell that the fleeing person was a woman because of the generous curves that the form fitting, black suit showed off. She called out for the woman to stop again but the mysterious runner kept on moving with no signs of slowing down. Carmelita swore in frustration. She watched as the feline that she was tailing continued to outrun her. She had finally noticed that the woman's tail, which was flailing behind her, was white and spotted. Finally, just as Carmelita was beginning to tire, the feline woman skid to a halt as she came to a gap that she could not clear. Carmelita stopped and raised the handgun again and commanded, "Put your hands up, Criminal!" The figure slowly turned around to face Carmelita. The feline's face was covered by a mask with two holes that allowed two amused brown eyes to stare at Carmelita.

"Inspector Fox, I must commend you." purred the masked woman, "I have not committed any crime yet… and yet, you are on my tail…" Carmelita's eyes widened as a similar scenario played in her head.

…"_Freeze Cooper!" Carmelita shouted as Sly Cooper entered the room and she revealed herself from within her hiding place, an empty mummy case. She watched intently as his deep brown eyes widened in surprise and then as he grinned in amusement. _

"_Inspector Fox…as lovely and unpredictable as ever." he joked._

"_Where as you crooks are so predictable," She said in her usual flippant tone. "You always return to the scene of the crime." She watched his facial expression change from mildly amused to utter disbelieving and dismayed._

"_Crime? I haven't stolen anything…yet." He blurted, and then tried to cover up his outburst by turning it into another witty comment. But Carmelita could see through his plan. Carmelita was shocked; maybe he did not steal the parts… _

Carmelita snapped back to reality as she picked up the sound of the female suspect shifting her weight. Carmelita adjusted and tightened her grip on the gun in her paws. The woman stared back unimpressed by the cold metal. As she spoke again, Carmelita could swear the feline was grinning at her, "Are you disappointed that I am not Sly Cooper?" Carmelita almost growled. That was one of her pet peeves; people always ribbed her about her obsession with chasing Sly. Especially, since no one really understood that her "obsession" was just part of how she did her job.

"It does not matter; all of you are criminals and have to be put behind bars. Sly Cooper or not, you are going to jail!" She snarled. The feline's tail waved back in forth in her amusement as she giggled. Carmelita's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I have not committed a crime in years. But I was going to come out of retirement for this one night to get something important. But unfortunately, things became a little too hot at the Macavity residence." said the feline. Just as the words slipped past the other woman's lips, Carmelita heard a huge explosion that rocked the area where she was. She toppled over and before she could regain her balance and stand back up, the feline was gone! Carmelita pounded her fist on the concrete roof and swore…

**With our new masked Friend…**

Uta Amaya or more famously known as the Japanese Cat Burglar and unknown as the widowed Amaya Cooper, did not even have time to get her bearings before the vehicle that she had landed on began to speed out of the alley. She immediately dropped to the roof of the non-descript black van and clung to mounts there. As they sped towards the firefight that she just left, she vaguely wondered whether or not the men in the vehicle were more of Macavity's goons or someone eager to end their lives. Finally, her curiosity wore down her resolve and she leaned down placing her ear against the roof of the car and listened for any distinct voices…

Bentley turtle sat at his computer with a pensive stare on his features. His boss Sly Cooper had just called him about twenty minutes ago and asked them to head out to Joseph Macavity's Research Complex. Bentley was already set up and ready to go. Murray was bouncing up and down in the driver's seat; he was ready to see some action. Bentley sat back in his chair after a moment; there was nothing else that he could do about the situation until Sly got there.

"Say pal, this kind of feels weird being back in action again. Do you agree?" asked Bentley. Murray nodded in the rear view mirror.

"Yeah pal, it is. I mean we haven't pulled any jobs since the… ummm…" Murray slowly clammed up. Bentley sighed softly. Murray and he had endured some odd moments in Sly's apartment because Murray incessantly felt the need to apologize to Bentley on and off again for the incident that left his cerebral friend paralyzed. If he wasn't apologizing he was unusually silent and the silences were always intensely awkward.

"Murray, it wasn't your fault. I don't blame you. I am fine. I am well on my way to finding a cure for it or at least a way to function around it. So quit being ridiculous and let it go. Please?" Bentley pleaded. Murray was taken back at first but then he finally smiled weakly and nodded. Bentley knew deep down that Murray was not cured of his guilt but there wasn't anything Bentley could do for him. "Where is Sly? He should be here by now. We are losing valuable time!"

Amaya gasped. So, these men weren't suicidal, they were the current Cooper gang! Was her son was involved with Joseph Macavity or was he here to steal back the missing page? She did not know and she did not want to find out, either. She wasn't quite ready to face her son, especially after being out of touch for so long. But it did warm her heart to know that her son was okay and that he had almost single-handedly preserved the Cooper line. She finally sat back up on her knees and positioned herself to jump off of the van but before she could leap off, the leopardess's conscience began to chew at her heart. She was running away again and this time she had no real excuse. Sly was no longer a child that needed to be protected… _He _was no longer here to leave tracks for her to cover up… Then why was she still running away? Because, she was afraid of failing Sly just like she failed Conner. Even as she thought about her late husband she had to swallow the familiar lump in her throat. It had been her fault that the Master Thief had died. She never had the heart to tell him that his closest friend was actually his enemy. She had been hunting the murderous bastard for the last 13 years, and still hadn't managed to find him.

She finally shook her head and steeled her nerves. She stayed on the van and decided that it would be best to try to make it up to her son, rather than run away from him. She watched the burning building get closer with determined brown eyes. Perhaps, she would be able to use their distraction to her advantage and still get what she had originally come for…

**With Sly…**

The male raccoon had not been at all surprised when he returned to his office earlier to find that his volatile police woman was gone. He would have been disappointed if she was still there. He walked around his desk and reached underneath it and pulled out a black duffel bag. He placed on top of the desk and stared at it for a long moment. Then he opened the bag and looked inside of it to find his old thieving outfit. He sighed. This was it, the Master of Thieves was coming out of retirement but the question was for how long? He knew he had to shut down the Macavity Family for good. One, because they were a danger to society and two, because he had to protect his daughter, but he still had not completely made up his mind about whether or not he would go back to active thieving afterwards. He looked up at his clock and decided that he would have to dwell on that dilemma another day.

He re-zipped the bag before grabbing it off of the desk and heading out of the room. He locked his office and requested for the nurses on call to watch out for his daughters until he returned the next afternoon. Sly quickly made his way back to the bunker area that was reserved for the night shift. When he finally passed through the security door and entered the locker room, he checked to make sure that the area was clear of workers. Then he quickly changed into his thieving attire and slipped out of room via an uncovered air vent. Even as he tried not to sneeze, he chuckled to himself. He could almost hear Bentley giving him directions to the printing press room back in Paris, or in Prague. Finally, after a few nerve wrecking moments, Sly emerged at the delivery entrance for the hospital. He spied a pole attached to the brick wall across the delivery area. He made his way over to the pole, stuck his trademark cane into his mouth, and climbed up the pole quickly. He climbed onto the rooftop and smiled as he looked around at Paris from the hospital's roof. He allowed the wind to caress his face and play in his hair once before he took off across the concrete and begin to make his way to the Macavity Laboratory.

Sly could practically feel every muscle in his body tingle with excitement. Every nerve ending in his flesh was firing and his heart was singing; he was absolutely ecstatic about being back in action, although, there was one part of his mind that was not as thrilled. This logical portion of his mind, or the Doctor as Sly had come to call it, was reminding Sly of every possible flaw in his crazy plan and not to mention everything that could go wrong if he failed. On the other hand, the Thief in his head was wishing that the Doctor would just close his mouth and quit worrying. Sly could almost see the two different sides of himself sitting on each of his shoulders screaming at each other:

"It's not the roof-hopping that worries me, it is the bullets." said Dr. Cooper. This Sly was wearing his doctor's uniform. He was wearing light blue scrubs underneath his white medical coat. He even had a surgical mask tied around his neck. He was also wearing a name tag that hung from his neck via hand-beaded lanyard that was given to him as a graduation present by a then six-year old Desiree.

"Oh geez," muttered the thief Sly on the raccoon's other shoulder, "these bullets are no different from the ones you dodged while pulling previous jobs. What's the hold up?" The thief was attired in Sly's thieving outfit and very smug in attitude. He frowned across the way at his counterpart, who was now shaking his head in dismay.

"What's the hold up? You have other people to think about! Even with Bentley's careful planning, things still got way out of hand on the last job we pulled. Not to mention, that things are not the way they were before." explained the doctor patiently. The thief raised a quizzical eyebrow at this.

"Really? Please, enlighten me to how much things have changed." He teased. The doctor scoffed.

"Well, for one thing, you are not the only person that you have to take care of now!" hissed the doctor. The thief fired back,

"If you are talking about the mess with Bentley and Murray, they chose to come with me! That's what friends do." The doctor nodded.

"I completely agree but you are forgetting one "little" thing, actually, make that two "little" things…" said the doctor smugly. Now, it was the thief's turn to scoff.

"Well?" he snapped.

"Your. Daughters." stated the doctor, holding up one finger with each word for emphasis. "You do remember them, don't you? They're a little higher than your knee and they call you 'daddy'?!" The thief blinked for a moment. "Bentley and Murray are definitely adults and can make their own decisions. But your daughters are only seven years old and need you. Sure, Aurora has her aunt but what about Desiree? Do you want to be reckless and end up in jail or dead so that your child will end up back at Happy Campers or in a foster home?"

After that exchange, Sly shook his head and continue making his way to the rendezvous point. As he was nearing the alley, he spotted an unusual figure hunched over the edge of the building in front of him. He made sure that he landed on the rooftop as quietly as he could. As he approached the figure, his eyes widened. He recognized the lush figure almost instantly.

"Carmelita?" he asked in surprise. The vixen started and whirled around to face Sly and snapped off two bullets before she could fully identify who was behind her. Thanks to Sly's quick reflexes, he managed to duck under the first bullet and jumped over the second. He landed in a crouch before he put his hands up in an innocent gesture. Carmelita blinked and lowered her weapon before glaring at the smirking raccoon. Her heart was still beating wildly.

"Damnit Cooper! I could have killed you!" she hissed. Sly chuckled as he stood up and walked up to the vixen and patted her on the shoulder. He looked into the alley that Carmelita had been searching when he had arrived. The alleyway was empty save for a dim light that illuminated some freshly made tire tracks. He looked back at the policewoman and asked,

"What happened?" Carmelita shrugged. She turned and began to make her way towards the burning labs that she had been heading to in the first place.

"I am not sure, Sly. When I got here, I saw a shady figure hiding in the shadow of the alley I parked my car in. She turned out to be a thief that was planning to steal something from the labs." Sly raised an eyebrow at this. "I swear this mystery is getting more convoluted by the second, Sly. I don't know if we will ever figure this out." She sighed. Sly smiled softly as the two unlikely partners leapt from rooftop to rooftop in sync.

"Well, maybe if we put our heads together, pretty girl, we could figure it out." He said smoothly. She looked at the brash raccoon beside. Did he suffer from a split personality disorder or something? Whenever Sly and she met in the field, he was almost always calm, collected, and ready to flirt with her. But when he was with Desiree and even Aurora, he was serious, still very funny, softer, and more protective. But just a few moments ago, he had practically laughed at death after she had fired two bullets at his head.

"What is your deal, Ringtail?" she asked as the complex came closer to them. He looked at her confused.

"Huh?"

"You act like a doctor and father in the hospital, but whenever you are doing your Master thief thing, you are Mr. Romantic himself! What's the deal? You can't decide who you really want to be?" she challenged. Sly frowned slightly.

"Well, Lieutenant, I could ask you the same question. But basically, it is just an act that I use to go along with the pseudonym. Sly Cooper is definitely different from Destini Cooper. But together, they make up the same person. I think every person has a pseudonym of themselves that they show to certain people. But only those that deserve to see the treasure that is within a given individual does. Isn't that right, Carmelita?" he asked in a surprisingly serious tone. "Sly is quick witted and able to do anything and willing to do anything to complete a job. He is the sole bearer of his family's dying legacy. He has to have a light heart, so that he doesn't sink under all the pressure. Destini on the other hand, he is the parent and the doctor. He is the nurturer and the caregiver, his job is to take care of and protect his charges and the lives of innocent people. When I first started out as a thief, these two were the same person, they were in sync. You never saw it directly, my dear. But after the incident with Bentley and my adoption of Desiree, the major differences began to show. But, I am still the same person at the end of the day." Carmelita blinked. She was absolutely floored by Sly's admission. So, she wasn't the only one who could wear a mask well? Interesting… This raccoon will always keep her guessing. She shook her head and chuckled.

"Okay Ringtail, I will buy that. So, does that first offer still stand?" she asked as they stopped behind an exposed ventilation shaft on the roof that overlooked the bloodied parking lot of the Macavity Medical Labs. He grinned at her and nodded. They both sunk down into comfortable crouching positions.

"Oh, before I forget, Desiree's transplant was a success! She is stable." gushed Sly. Carmelita almost jumped up and down with glee.

"That is buenísima, Sly! !Estoy feliz¡ But, we have a problem to solve, sí?

"Ladies first," said Sly as he looked at the vixen. Carmelita swallowed, but got over her guilt and told Sly everything that she knew, including her father's last minute confession. Sly turned his back to the metal vent and leaned against it. He frowned as he fit all the new puzzle pieces into their proper place. Then he reached into his leg pouch and pulled out the list that he had scribbled down from a day or so back. He scanned it over once more and his eyes grew wide. He numbly handed the list to Carmelita. She took it with a questioning glance. Sly nervously licked his lips. His heart was quickly accelerating into gallop. His mind was whirling. It all made sense now. They were accidentally in the middle of a huge mafia civil war. The reason that none of the information that they knew concerning this case made any sense was because it was all part of two different plans that happened to overlap.

"Oh hell," muttered Sly. Carmelita raised an eyebrow at him. "But my question is, when did the plans overlap and why?"

"Can you please explain to me what you are going on about?" complained the vixen.

"We are in the middle of a mafia war. We are just pawns in their games. But there is only one problem, we don't know what started it," explained Sly.

"My father said that it started with the Disney Massacre and that Nautica wanted to use you for something that is why Desiree fits into this mess." Carmelita said. Sly frowned again. There is a key goal that both of them have to be fighting over, what is it? Carmelita said it started with the Disney incident… What about that day is so important? The building was destroyed as a warning to the owners to continue paying their protection fees to the greedy mob boss. Sly met Amarianni and Aurora that day, and he also met Justin Whittaker. Justin was a member of Joseph Macavity's elk. Then Amarianni and Aurora Vencinette were being watched by Macavity, but they were under special protection due to the arrangement the mafia boss had with a rival gang. That deal was botched because Amarianni and Aurora were hurt in the blast. If Justin had been in charge of the Disney affair, he would have probably been held responsible for ruining the deal that Macavity had with the other gang.

"Carmelita, you've dealt with mafia cases before, right?" Sly questioned. She nodded. "So, what do you think would happen to one of Macavity's cronies, if they messed up one of his plans?" She grimaced and drew a line across her slender throat with her thumb. Sly nodded. "I thought so, but… but what if they have something to offer Macavity, would he let him live?" She shrugged,

"I would imagine so, if the information is really useful to him." She answered.

"That must mean that Justin must have recognized me from the Park incident. He must have told Macavity when he realized that his boss's golden girls got caught in the crossfire." muttered Sly; this thought was followed by a curse.

"Okay Ringtail, that ties Joseph Macavity into this crazy conspiracy, but what about Nautica? What was her motivation, I mean, other than the fact that she hates me with a passion?" Carmelita asked. Sly swore again, now they were back at square one. What did Carmelita say about Desiree and Nautica? She mentioned something about Nautica creating Desiree's heart defect… Then he snatched the list back from Carmelita as she made a noise of protest. At the bottom of the list there was an asterisk, and beside it was a note concerning Nautica's degree in Genetics. There was still one thing he did not get, what exactly was her plan? Then his eyes were drawn to one particular note:

_Amarianni Vencinette is mortally wounded in the blast. This is the first time Sly sees Aurora Vencinette. Also he learns of someone claiming to be Desiree's mother wanting to take custody of Desiree from him._

Then Bentley's voice rang in his head:

…"_Sly you will not believe this, I intercepted an email from Nautica… she is pretending to be Desiree's mother…" …"She's planning on taking Desiree from you during the custody hearing!"…_

Nautica created Desiree, impregnated Carmelita, and then dumped her in an orphanage, but then wanted to take her back in a court battle. Why? Maybe she wanted to control him using Desiree's health status. But when her father tried to control him by kidnapping his daughter, she became hospitalized early, which threw off Nautica's plan that had taken years to put together. That all made sense but, what did Carmelita have to do with it, besides being the mother? Why was she chosen?

"Say, Carmelita? You believe that Nautica used you as a host because she wanted revenge for you arresting her, right?" asked Sly.

"Sí. ¿Por qué?" she replied. (Yeah. Why?) Sly's face paled and then twisted into an angry grimace.

"This is one sick and twisted situation." He snarled. Carmelita frowned.

"That is obvious, Ringtail." She snapped. Another explosion rocked the area. Sly tilted forward and landed in Carmelita's lap with cry. Both Sly and Carmelita looked at each other and flushed crimson. Sly marveled at how warm Carmelita was. Carmelita was just shocked but she finally recovered her wits. "Nice job, Ringtail. I was hoping one day you would just fall into my lap." Sly howled with laughter. He slowly sat up and apologized.

"Although it wasn't planned, I believe that it worked out very well." He said. She giggled softly and replied,

"Okay, okay Sly. Let's get back to the situation at hand." Sly nodded.

"I think I understand what happened." He replied. Carmelita urged him on as she took a look behind her to see that there were still men down there shooting at each other. "It was me. The key to this whole mess was me." Carmelita's face became puzzled. "I believe that Nautica wanted me for some reason and whatever it was, she knew that I would not participate by my own free will. So, seven years ago she put her degree in Genetics to work. She lured me into meeting her at The Getaway, then drugged me, and collected the genetic material she needed for Desiree. Then she must have forced or threatened the Contessa into wiping my memory of the event, so I would not become suspicious later on down the road. Then at some point she also gathered some genetic material from you and began constructing the embryo that would later become Desiree." Carmelita's head was spinning. She was shook to her core and angry. Why was Nautica so evil?

"If she had your memory wiped Ringtail, she must have wiped my memory, too, of certain events. Because, I remember giving birth to a child and I remember Nautica telling me that she had died when I tripped and fell. But, I don't remember anything else, not even being pregnant." complained Carmelita. Then her heart nearly stopped. There was nearly an entire year of her life that Carmelita could not remember. She was beyond pissed and saddened, too. But she tried to reground herself and listen to Sly.

"I also wager that she probably still had you locked up somewhere when she finished the embryo. That means that she probably impregnated you not just out of humiliation, but convenience as well." said the thief. She had to agree with that logic. "Then she dropped Desiree off at the orphanage, listed her mother as anonymous, and left her there knowing that eventually, I would show up at Happy Campers again. That's probably why she left my name unsealed. She was counting on me taking pity on Desiree because of my past as an orphan. Then she waited a couple of years until I became attached to her and began putting the second part of her plan in motion. But then a very huge obstacle appeared in her path…" he trialed off. Carmelita's eyes widened as she caught onto where the story was going.

"The Disney Massacre. In the massacre, Justin must have mixed up Amarianni's travel plans and she was caught in the blast. Justin sold you out to Macavity to save his own skin. Then he planned to use Desiree as a bargaining chip to acquire your thieving skills. So, he had his thugs attempt to kidnap her and instead they hospitalized Desiree too soon for Nautica's liking." She said excitedly.

"Yeah, this also prompted me to call my gang back to Paris. When Bentley started snooping around, he discovered Nautica's hoax. So, unbeknownst to her, that plan was also destroyed. She must have somehow discovered that Amarianni's blood and tissue type matched Desiree's. So, she had a man on the inside kill Amarianni and take the heart. She must have had some way of keeping the heart alive. Then she must have had one of her men intercept Justin and your father. She kidnapped Justin and killed him. Her father learns of Justin and Amarianni's death and the injured Jorge Fox, so he decides that it is time for a little payback. So, he decides to send a hit squad to the hospital to kill me. I guess he figured that would hurt Nautica the most." finished Sly. Carmelita was quiet for a few moments as she digested all the information. Now, everything made sense. It all fit.

"That's great that we know how everything gotten to this point but what are we going to do about, Ringtail?" she challenged. Sly gave her one of his oh-so-famous smirks and gave her a rather obvious answer,

"Easy. We stop them cold turkey and you cart them off to jail, sweetheart." Carmelita rolled her eyes. "I suggest we split up, though. I'll take Hisser; I owe him for trying to hurt my daughter and for attempting to kill me."

"Bueno. I'll deal with Nautica; after all, we have a score to settle." Carmelita stated. Carmelita turned towards the skirmish going on in the parking lot and made her way to the end of the building. Then she felt a warm hand grab her own and then a light pressure was placed on the back of it and the warmth disappeared.

"Be careful." said Sly. She whirled around, but the Master Thief had already disappeared. She held her hand in her other hand in disbelief. He had kissed her hand and took off before she could see him. That raccoon may be a thief, but he was still very much a charmer. She smiled, maybe talking about this relationship thing, would not be such a bad idea after all.

As Sly made his way across the rooftops, he pulled out his trusty Binoc-u-com and put it to his face.

"FINALLY!" shouted Bentley. Sly chuckled. It was almost as if time had reversed itself and he was pulling another job. "This is really your show Sly, but Murray and I have secured an ingress point. We have made preparations so that we can attack either of our main targets at your request Sly. I have set up our hidden mobile base in the back of the labs, I have also placed a marker for it in your Binoc-u-com. Meet us there and we will do a quick electronic sweep and decide who to attack first. Although, getting to both of the Macavitys might be tricky, due to the circumstances and a very tight schedule. We may have to chase the other down while they are on the run. But I have a means of slowing them down, but you will have to make the final calls."

"Okay, sounds like a plan, Bent. But I have already decided who I want to tag first." Sly huffed as he continued making his way across the buildings and worked his way around to the back of the facility. Bentley frowned inside the black van that they had stolen from a group of Macavity's thugs that were trying to escape the firefight.

"Really, well, that makes my job easier. Who is it? Then I can work on slowing the other one down or even stopping them altogether." said Bentley.

"Joseph Macavity, he is the primary threat to my daughter." Sly said matter-of-factly. Bentley made some notes on his computer. "Oh, and by the way, Bent?"

"What?" asked the turtle absentmindedly as he continued to modify his plans in light of the new information.

"Carmelita's here." He said nonchalantly. "Three… Two… One…" thought Sly.

"WHAT?!!! Oh no! OH NO! This throws off everything! She will find out about your daughter and your new cover, and she will throw you in jail if she catches you here!" Bentley screeched. Sly chuckled again. "What in the _hell _is so funny, huh Sly?"

"Carmelita Montoya Fox and Nautica Macavity have a rather _lovely_ past together and as we speak, Carmelita is tracking the vixen down for some much needed girl talk." Sly stated with a smirk as he hopped down from the roof of the gutted, old apartment building next to the receiving area of the Macavity Medical Labs. He spied the black van and silently made his way over to it. But as he did so, he thought he saw a moving shadow near the slightly illuminated van. Just as Sly was about to investigate, the shadow disappeared. Sly approached van wearily and checked to make sure that whoever was there wasn't still lurking around. He then traveled to the back of the van and rapped on the back of it. The back door creaked open and Sly made his way in. Bentley was in the process of rolling his chair back in front of his computer. After he got there, he started clicking away at various screens. Sly moved quietly to his friend's side and looked at the screen.

"Here's the deal. Nautica Macavity is moving towards her father's position. But we are much closer to him than she is. If Carmelita is tracking her down, it might be best to let her slow down Nautica or even take her out for us. The new plan is to keep the two apart for as long as possible and try to keep them in this vicinity for as long as we can. Sound good to you, Sly?" inquired Bentley as he looked up at his friend and leader. Sly nodded. "Okay, I will set off a set of charges a little ways from the van, the guards that Macavity posted in this sector have been instructed to make sure that no one gets into the building this way." Bentley explained.

"So, I am guessing that the charges are meant to lure the guards away while I sneak in and head after Macavity." surmised the raccoon. Bentley nodded gruffly, "Ok, well, you take care of that Hoo Doo that you do and I will wait for your signal." Bentley nodded and began gathering his supplies and gear. Murray was pulling his mask and gloves on in the front seat. Bentley jumped out of the back of the van and rolled off into the night. Sly closed the door and leaned against it. He was mentally preparing himself to face the man that tried to destroy what sense of family he had worked so hard to maintain. He was also worried about Carmelita, Nautica was one ruthless adversary. But the thief had no more time to wallow in his thoughts, because the sound of a dull explosion reached his ears.

He peeked out the back doors of the van and watched smirking as four black clad guards clomped past. When he was sure they were gone, he signaled to Murray that he was leaving, and took a cleansing breath. Then he shot out of the black doors as Bentley was returning. He barely heard the thump of the back doors as Bentley slammed them shut. Sly slipped through the secret entrance using the new technique that he had developed while trying to escape from the death squad. He grinned in amusement as he listened to Bentley sputter in shock from the van.

Sly listened quietly as Bentley guided him down the dark escape route. From what Sly could gather from his other senses, the corridor was narrow, but it wasn't claustrophobic in its portions. He dragged his cane-less hand along the wall and felt the rough texture of concrete under his glove-covered fingertips. The air that went into his nose was clean and dry, which meant that this tunnel was connected to the air-conditioning of the building. Also, there were all kinds of scents lingering in the corridor. This told the thief that the corridor was a well used one. Finally, Sly's hand ran out of wall and he frowned.

"Hey Bent," he called.

"There is a branch-off here. The off-shoot on your left leads to a set of stairs that lead to the roof. Keep going straight, Sly, and you will come across the door leading in to Macavity's office. When you reach the door, just let me know and we will move on from there, okay?" instructed Bentley. Sly agreed and continued to move forward…

**Meanwhile with Carmelita…**

Carmelita was practically holding her breath as she did her best to time her footsteps with those of the red-headed vixen before her. She realized early on that her hard soled leather boots made much more noise than usual in the unusually empty building. So, when she finally caught up with Nautica, she made sure to synchronize her steps with the selfish vixen so that Nautica's sensitive ears would not be able to detect Carmelita's footfalls. Carmelita felt the rapid drumming of her heart against her rib cage as Nautica suddenly stopped walking. She watched as the other vixen tiptoed up to a wall. Apparently, the corridor that she had been traversing was a dead end. But then Carmelita realized that the vixen was leaning against a well concealed door. The door had no noticeable hinges on the outside. It did not have a frame, either. Carmelita watch in fascination as Nautica pressed on a specific spot on the door. A circular section of the door sunk in and there was small clicking sound. The door popped open a little ways. Nautica slowly pushed the door open a little wider. Carmelita could see some of the room from her position.

The room seemed to be an office of some kind. The walls and floor were a soft khaki color and she saw what looked like the corner of a glass table. She could now hear Joseph Macavity's voice. She surmised that Nautica was spying on her father in his office. Then Carmelita heard a soft clicking sound. At first, Carmelita wasn't sure she heard it. Then Macavity stop talking to whomever he was talking to. Then she heard what sounded like a phone being placed back into its cradle. Then she realized that the click she heard wasn't imaginary. Then she had to bite down on her own tongue to keep from gasping out loud as she watched Nautica raise her weapon up to her eye level. Then the vixen leaned forward and placed the gun in the crevice. Carmelita realized that Nautica was about to shoot her father. Should she try to stop Nautica or not?

On one hand, it will make things easier for her and Sly to stop Macavity's plans. But on the other hand, it was her responsibility to prevent as much bloodshed as possible… besides, who was she to deny Sly his revenge? Carmelita slowly inched a little closer to Nautica and then as Nautica pressed down on the trigger, she threw all of her weight into Nautica's back. The redhead gave a startled yelp as she was shoved into the door. Carmelita winced as she heard the gunshot explode from the gun. Both vixens fell into office and began scuffling and rolling around on the floor. Carmelita managed to grab the arm that Nautica was holding the gun in. She began slamming the vixen's arm on the ground in an effort to knock the gun from her hand. Carmelita finally managed to knock the gun from Nautica's hand and received a punch to the gut for her efforts. She cried out and gripped her abdomen as pain spread through her body.

Nautica took advantage of this opening and nailed Carmelita in the face with a right hook. The police vixen was knocked onto her back. Nautica rolled over onto her stomach and started to crawl towards her fallen weapon, which had landed a few meters away from her. She reached the gun, grabbed it, cocked it, and trained it on Joseph Macavity in one fluid motion. Joseph Macavity was still coming to terms with his daughter shooting him. He was hunched over in the corner furthest away from the two fighting vixens. There was blood dripping from his injured hand. He was gripping his hand tightly and cradled it to himself, even as he stared coldly at the gun trained on him. He did not even blink as his daughter began the motions to pull the trigger of the gun. But before she could complete the action, the sound of a gun being cocked reached her ears. She whipped her head around to see Carmelita hunched over slightly and heavily but her gun was pointing steadily at Nautica.

"Drop your… weapon… criminal!" she wheezed out between gasps. Nautica snorted. What could that injured vixen do to her? Carmelita growled as if she could hear the offensive thought and narrowed her eyes. "Don't underestimate me, amiga! Do you really want to risk seeing if I am a better shot than you?!" By now, Nautica was feeling a little less sure of herself. Her eyes darted back and forth between Carmelita and her injured father. She knew what the formidable vixen was capable of. Carmelita had taken out three of her guards with ease when she had attempted to get away with Desiree the first time. "Yes," thought Nautica, "This vixen is a tough cookie." But Nautica knew that there was something that could rattle the vixen enough to allow for her escape and the quick assassination of her father.

"Well, of course, Carmelita… I would not dare challenge you with a weapon in your hands. Your shooting percentage is unparalleled in Interpol as well as your arrest record. You are a very dedicated officer. Now, if only you could have the same amount of precision and dedication to spare in other areas of your life, oui?" jeered Nautica. Carmelita's eyes narrowed in anger and suspicion. What was this impudent and violent vixen talking about? But Carmelita did not allow her guard to drop or her face to show any concern. Although, she did reposition her grip, just in case Nautica had a trick up her sleeve.

"What kind of things are we talking about, tramp? Because, if you are talking being the best whore… then you have me beat hands down." said Carmelita nonchalantly with half shrug. Carmelita's lips twitched upward on one side when Nautica growled out a swear word at her.

"No! You talking law book!" snarled Nautica. She was incensed, because Carmelita did not jump in head first as she thought that the other vixen would. The other thing was that the horrid vixen had managed to get under her skin with a single comeback. But she would once again be in control. "No, I meant doing what should come naturally to _real_ women." Nautica jeered sharply.

Carmelita blinked in confusion and then what the vixen was hinting at hit her. Her memory flashed back to when she was forced to hold what she thought was her dead baby. Then her mind replayed the fear and pain she felt when she thought that she was going to lose Desiree again, and this memory was quickly followed by the pained look on Desiree's face when Carmelita had admitted that she was her mother. Carmelita felt her throat close up as sorrow began to creep up her chest. She fought desperately not to let the tears that had jumped into her eyes fall down her face. She refused to give Nautica or Joseph Macavity the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She had been so wrapped up in her own mind that she was not paying much attention to Nautica. But the vixen's jeering laughter immediately snapped the volatile, sable haired vixen out of her mental daze. Hearing Nautica's laughter ignited a furious blaze in her veins and it made her blood boil from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet.

Hot, angry tears splashed down her face in torrents. "How dare she…!" Carmelita howled in her mind. That bitch of a vixen was accusing her of not being a good enough mother after she tricked her and stole her Desiree! That mind numbing anger that had possessed her momentarily at the hospital was returning full force and increasing exponentially, along with a horrific amount pressure behind her eyes. Then… without warning, the angry fire within her exploded and she let out an enraged howl that shook the room.

The vixen's eyes widened in shock and dread; Nautica stood transfixed by Carmelita's quick and chilling transformation. The Interpol officer's demeanor had changed within a span of about two seconds. Her countenance had gone from despairing to primal. Her brown eyes seemed to have changed to a glowing yellow and narrowed to slits. Then a bone-chilling howl ripped from her throat and the enraged vixen threw the weapon she was holding aside and started charging towards her. Nautica did not have time to run or scream before Carmelita collided with her and speared the other vixen into the wall. Nautica could only grunt and cry out when her back collided with the wall. She saw stars momentarily and before she could regain her senses one of Carmelita's gloved paws connected with the side of her face…

* * *

Joseph Macavity's mind was reeling, in the past 30 minutes alone, his entire life had been turned upside down. First, his daughter stormed his base of operations, started destroying property, and killing personnel. Second, she had attempted to kill him although; she only succeeded in injuring him, due to the interference of Lieutenant Fox. Now, the Interpol officer had apparently been driven to the point of insanity by his daughter and was attempting to kill her. Macavity had winced slightly when the vixen had speared into his daughter and drove her into the wall near the corner he was huddled in. Then wall had given way a little due to the impact of the two vixens slamming into it. Nautica's body was slightly embedded in the wall and the Interpol officer was still hitting her. He watched as the vixen drove her shoulder into Nautica's stomach over and over again.

Nautica finally managed to break the other vixen's momentum, when she finally managed to grab a fistful of the officer's hair and throw her backwards. The officer was thrown onto her back and Nautica doubled over gasping for air and coughing. Joseph Macavity gasped in admiration as the policewoman recovered quickly and threw her legs into the air and used the force she generated to pull her back onto her feet. She rushed at his still recovering daughter and grabbed her by her hair and began slamming her head against a wall. Joseph winced as his daughter's head made a disturbing hollow sound as it connected with the wall over and over again…

Joseph Macavity started inching towards the escape route that was behind his chair. Finally, a few stressful seconds later the cheetah made it to the concealed door and reached up to press the latch down. The door clicked open as Nautica's unconscious form slammed into the wall beside him. The mafia boss watched as his daughter slid to floor without a sound. Although, she did leave a trail blood behind on the wall. He crawled through the opening that the door no longer occupied and closed it behind himself. He let out a breath that the mafia leader did not know he was holding. He had barely escaped assassination. But what the unsuspecting mafia boss did not know was that Sly had been keeping an ear on the fight and had been waiting patiently for Macavity to slink out of his back door.

The cheetah's ear twitched as it caught a whistling sound coming from his left. He rolled to his right and felt his fur raise up as he heard the sharp clang of metal on the concrete floor of the escape route. Who in the hell could that be? He looked behind himself to see two, "floating" hard brown eyes glaring down at him from the darkness. He decided that he start employing that naturally given speed that cheetahs were known for. He continued to roll about dodging strike after strike from his seemingly invisible opponent as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the enclosed escape route. Finally, the feline gangster grabbed onto the head of the weapon with one hand and then pulled. When he felt the attacker was close enough to him, he reached up and grabbed the attacker's wrist and flipped them over. Macavity heard them the wall with an 'oof' sound and began crawling towards the exit. Although, he was hiding and cursing due to the strain placed on his injured hand from his previous efforts. He struggled to his feet after awhile and started running towards the exit…

* * *

Sly quickly climbed to his feet and radioed Bentley. His other arm was dangling beside him and his shoulder was throbbing. Sly was hopping that the stitches had not been pulled out from that toss and the subsequent impact.

"Bentley, he's a fast son of a gun! He's headed your and Murray's way! You need to-" he started.

"No worries, pal! I did some research on cheetah kind. I know he's fast and so does his darling daughter. She was planning on collapsing the escape route in case he tried to make a run for before she could get to him. It will just take a second to do. Hold on, hold on… Bingo!" crowed Bentley. Then there was a resounding explosion. Sly's eyes widened as Joseph Macavity came sprinting back towards his position, being trailed by an orange fireball. Sly wasted no time, and began sprinting back towards the branch off that led to the roof. Macavity and Sly reached the turn off at nearly the same time. Macavity turned the corner a second before Sly did. Macavity made it through the exit door before Sly and slammed it in his face. But Sly just kept running and phased through the metal door just as the fireball hit the door and blew it off its hinges.

The metal door slammed into Sly's back and threw him forward into the still fleeing Macavity. Sly collided with Macavity and both mammals were thrown off their feet and into the air. They both hit the concrete and rolled, all the air in their lungs had been knocked out on impact. After the commotion ended, both men lay unconscious on the roof with cops closing in…

**That's it, folks! But I do have good news, I have a week and half and finals to get through but then I am off for Christmas break. Its about 3-4 weeks off, so I will try to wrap this story up, since I know how it ends now. Thanks again and please vote if you have not voted already!**

**Here's snippet:**

"_Sly, Macavity-san, he is partly responsible for the death of your otou-san."… _


	17. Chapter 17

Hi again! I cannot believe I am almost through with this story! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this that makes me so happy. I will be wrapping this up in **1** more chapter, not counting this one. Sorry, for the mishap last chapter. Also, I thought you all would be pleased to know that I have finished the first chapter of the Strangers Like Us sequel: Second Impressions as well as complete a significant portion of chapter 2. **Please read! I have created a poll for the next story I should upload after the completion of this fanfic; please visit my profile and cast your vote. Instructions for voting are on my profile page. Thanks! You can also leave your votes in a review as well, I just need votes!**

**So far the results are:**

**Naruto: 1**

**Kingdom Hearts: 4**

**Stranger's Like Us sequel: 23**

**YUGiOh!: 0**

**Surprise Us: 7**

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, Adolf Hisser, Margalo, Amarianni, and Aurora Vencinette, Mark, Shadow, Suzuki, Dr. Lamar Akimji, and Uta Amaya belong to me, and Carmen Fox belongs to Kitty Petro.

**Warning: **There will be a few swear words in this chapter, courtesy of Carmelita and Sly, but the situations warranted the use of them, at least I believed that they did.

**Another**** note: **I apologize to any French readers I may have. I have recently been revamping this story and doing some fact checking. I realized that the French Educational System is structured differently than the US system. These differences also extend to the Medical training track as well. Of course, this was obvious from the beginning; but I just realized how different they were. I am currently reworking the story and adding in those changes. If have any French readers, please let me know if I am representing system correctly. Earlier chapters will be revamped at the completion of the last chapter as well.

**One last but IMPORTANT**** note: **The _baccalauréat _is an important test taken by students in France, usually at the age of 16, which is the age they usually complete their required education. This exam is not required to "graduate" but most students take some form of it during their educational careers. The form that Sly took is called _baccalauréat général_. The _baccalauréat général_ is usually taken by students that want to pursue University level degrees including: Medicine, Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees, etc, except for technical degrees such as engineering. They have their own _baccalauréat. _I will go over education in more detail next chapter. I just wanted to explain the _baccalauréat _because it is mentioned towards the end of the chapter.

**Quick recap**: Des's operation is a complete success. Meanwhile, Carmelita is headed to the growing fire fight between father and daughter at the Macavity labs. When she gets there, she runs into a thief that is later revealed to be Amaya Uta, Sly's mother. After losing sight of Amaya on the rooftops, Sly and Carmelita meet up by chance on the way to the same place. When the two exchange information, Sly realizes that there were two different plans running concurrently headed by Joseph and Nautica Macavity separately. When the Disney Massacre occurred, both plans were blown apart, leading to a showdown between the two Macavitys. Poor Sly, Carmelita, Desiree were trapped in the middle of it all. Sly and Carmelita split up and tracked down Joseph Macavity and Nautica Macavity respectively. Carmelita and Nautica get into a brutal fight after Carmelita attempts to stop Nautica's attempt to assassinate her father. In the end, Joseph Macavity is shot in the hand and Nautica Macavity is seriously injured and left unconscious. Meanwhile, Sly confronts Macavity in one of the cheetah's escape routes. When Macavity escapes from Sly, Bentley triggers an explosion that was rigged by Nautica to keep her father from escaping before she could kill him. Both he and Sly barely make to the roof in time to avoid being burned alive in the blast. The force of the blast throws both men onto the concrete and knocks them unconscious.

**Chapter 17**

Neither Sly nor Macavity stirred for a moment. The only thing that was moving on the rooftop was the wind. Then Sly's chest shuddered and he started coughing. He rolled onto his side as he gasped for air between coughing fits, then he rolled onto his stomach. Sly managed to plant his hands underneath his body and push himself onto his knees. He took a couple deep breaths then struggled to his feet. He was still partially slouched over due to his injuries. His back was on fire, he was going to need a great chiropractor and a personal masseuse after this job was done. He looked down at the unconscious form of Joseph Macavity. Sly kept one eye on the prone cheetah while he searched for his cane. His ears twitched as the sound of the approaching sirens reached them. Finally, he spotted his family's weapon lying over near the edge of the building. He made sure not to turn his back completely towards the fallen boss. He made his way to his cane and picked it up. As he was turning the rest of his body around, he saw that Macavity was starting to stir. Sly dropped into his fighting stance and his eyes narrowed. He watched as Macavity staggered to his feet.

The cheetah slowly drew himself up to his full height. His injured paw was still dripping blood. The cheetah was struggling to maintain his intimidating stance; his body had taken quite a beating. Sly wasn't impressed; in his mind, Clockwerk rising from the lava of the Krack-Karkov Volcano like a zombie was much more intimidating. Sly loosened and tightened his grip on the cane in anticipation. Both men eyed each other shrewdly. Then Sly heard static in his ear, followed Bentley's shrill voice,

"Sly! You have to get out of there soon! The police are closing in!" Sly did not take his eyes off of the cheetah. He watched as the cheetah began to grin smugly.

"It seems that your time is running out, Monsieur Cooper… the authorities are finally arriving…" he gloated. Sly heard the familiar hiss of static and Bentley's almost gloating voice in his ear.

"You may want to inform your _friend_ that his time is up, too. When I found all of Joseph and Nautica Macavity's hidden archives, I forwarded them all to Carmen Fox at Interpol!" Ha ha… that clever turtle… Sly decided to save that tidbit of information for later.

"So, you must be here for revenge. I take it that you did not like my welcoming committee or are you here to finish what you started with the Fiendish Five?" sneered Macavity hoping to stall the thief. Sly was well aware of what his opponent was attempting to do, but he wasn't expecting for Macavity to admit to stealing from his family! Sly let loose a growl as he snapped back at Macavity,

"What are you talking about?" The cheetah began to grin manically. Sly warily watched the madman. He felt his body tingle with dread as the sound of police cars and fire trucks got closer and louder. The two men continued to circle each other as they tried to size up their opponent.

"You weren't aware that I had a page of your family's precious book?" the feline chortled. Sly growled again, but then stopped. He was playing right into the cheetah's trap and decided he needed to turn the tables on the terrible tyrant. Sly schooled his features into a cool mask and hid his outrage behind it. When Macavity's countenance became wary, Sly smiled slightly; which actually looked like a demented smirk when it was coupled with his hard brown eyes. He spoke calmly,

"No. I was not aware that you actually engaged in doing some of your own dirty work. Secondly, I didn't like being shot at, but that's not why I am here…" Sly's voice faded during this statement, as he took the end of his cane sat it on the roof. Afterwards, he leaned on the head of it. He took his other hand and started stroking his chin as he explained in an almost candid voice, "Actually, I am not here for myself. You see, I am quite used to people screwing around with me. Clockwerk screwed with my family and my childhood. Eventually, I got my revenge when I watched his battered and broken body sink into the lava of a Russian volcano. Then when that maniac rose again thanks to the mindless and selfish antics of the Klaww Gang, I destroyed him for good. But not before _Clock-La_ screwed up my friend." Sly's voice took on a dangerous tone as he stood up and took the cane into his hand again as he stalked towards the mafia boss. Sly's anger twisted and writhed in his stomach like an enraged serpent. It was begging for release.

Macavity could see his death reflected in the raccoon's hard brown eyes and wisely began to back up. Sly just continued talking, "If that bitch, Neyla, had not died when the old bird finally went down; I would have hunted her down myself. See, I am quite capable of dealing with people screwing with me. It comes with the family name, but… nobody… I MEAN NOBODY SCREWS WITH _MY DAUGHTER_!" he growled as he rushed forward and swung his cane in wide arc towards Macavity's head. The cheetah quickly leaned back with his eyes wide in surprise. The cane cut through the air creating an eerie whistling sound as it flew through the area that the cheetah's head had just occupied.

Sly wasted no time in following up; he dropped to the ground and swept the mafia boss off of his feet. Sly lunged forward with his cane poised to strike the cheetah in the face. Joseph was once again glad for his natural speed. He barely managed to move his head out of way of the falling weapon. But, he realized too late that he wasn't completely fast enough when he saw a flash out of his peripheral vision and then felt a slicing pain in his ear. He roared in pain and swiped at Sly's face. The raccoon jerked his head back and Sly stiffened as he felt the breeze generated by the cheetah's claws barely missing his face. Joseph quickly followed his missed strike with a knee to Sly's chin. He smirked in grim satisfaction as his knee connected with flesh of Sly's chin and sent him staggering backwards. He quickly got to his feet and rushed his opponent. He aimed a round house kick to his head.

Sly staggered backwards a few a steps and dropped to his knees. He shook his head to try to clear it. That shot to the chin had caused his jaws to click together painfully and his head to snap backwards. He was still dazed. He looked up in time to catch Joseph Macavity's gator covered shoe to the face. Sly could only moan as the cheetah kicked his cane from his grip. Then Sly gasped as Joseph stepped on his chest and pressed down. Sly squirmed in vain, hoping to move the heavy weight off of his chest. Finally, he gave up and settled for glaring at the one eared Mafia boss.

"You will pay for what you did to my ear!" he snarled, "I will take great delight in carving that mutt's heart out as payment!" Sly actually hissed at Joseph after that statement. The cheetah chuckled and pressed down on Sly's ribs a little harder, which elicited a groan from the raccoon. "From that sound, I would swear that you were feline! But no respectable female feline would ever sully themselves with a _coon_ of all things!" He bristled in indignation of the "coon" remark. The spotted house cat actually made it sound like a slur! Sly's mouth opened before he had a chance to consider what he was about to say,

"Well then, your mother must have been an back alley cat!" The cheetah's face contorted into a demonic sneer before he roared in anger, and stomped on Sly's chest repeatedly in rage. The raccoon cried out in pain when one of his ribs cracked from the pressure. After the cheetah's fury was spent, his face relaxed into that calm, charismatic demeanor that had probably tricked more than a few people. He began to speak condescendingly to the raccoon.

"You confuse me, Sly Cooper… You have immense talent at your disposal… but you waste it defending some _abomination _that you could have as just as easily created in a moment of hasty drunkenness. I say it's a waste of energy, since she isn't worth the effort…" purred as Macavity looked down on his winded opponent. Sly snarled at that. This cheetah had people whacked on a whim, thought anyone who was of mixed blood should be shot, and hated most of the world with a passion… yet… his daughter, his angelic seven-year old daughter, was the _abomination_?

"Fuck… you!" He growled out as he reached out, grabbed the cheetah's ankle, and pulled it towards his face, taking the feline by surprise. Sly then rolled to his left, which caused Macavity to flip over onto the pavement next to Sly. Macavity gasped as he hit the pavement and the air was knocked from his lungs once more. Sly rolled away from the mafia boss and slowly climbed to his knees and began looking for his cane. He finally spotted it balanced on the edge of the roof. He started crawling towards the weapon and as soon as he fingers brushed it, he was tackled from behind by Macavity. Sly screamed in pain as the cheetah's claws sunk into his sides. He scrambled in panic and pain, and accidently knocked his cane from the rooftop. He swore in his mind. He was now weaponless and had a full grown male cheetah on his back. He swore aloud when he heard police cars finally surround the building. Despite the pain he was in, Sly started bucking, in hopes of throwing the cheetah off. He finally grew tired, and started looking for another way to escape. All of a sudden, Sly felt a tickling sensation on his left wrist. He looked over and saw the cheetah's twitching tail lying on it.

Sly got an idea. One of his mixed breeding's most telling features was his claws. His claws were thick, sharp, and long. They were about 2 ½ inches long unsheathed; and he could retract them like his mother. Sly hated to ruin his gloves, but he could fix them later. He slowly released his claws and grinned when they broke through his gloves. He reached around without warning and snatched Joseph's tail with the claws of his left hand. The cheetah roared in pain and immediately let go of Sly's sides. He rolled to the left and Sly let go of the cheetah's tail and scrambled to his feet. When Sly looked back, Macavity was already on his feet. His tail was bloody on the end from where Sly's claws had injured it. Both men attempted to attack each other at the same time, Sly slashed at the cheetah's face but missed. He ducked a similar strike from the cheetah by leaning to the right of his claws and knocking the strike off course with open palm strike. He then threw a punch towards the cheetah's exposed face but the cheetah quickly blocked the strike. As Sly brought his fist back from the first strike, he opened his hand and lined it up with his other hand. Then he pushed them forward until he sent Macavity flying backwards from his opened palm shot to the chest. Joseph Macavity flew for a few feet and then hit the pavement. Sly stayed in a fighting position until he was certain that the mafia boss was not going to attack him again. As he began to relax, someone started clapping…

**Meanwhile with Carmelita (after Bentley collapsed the hallway)…**

Carmelita snapped back to reality when she heard a dull roar. She looked around the office as she tried to remember why she was there in the first place. Her eyes fell on the discarded guns, first. She blinked as she recognized her father's pistol. She slowly walked over, picked it up, and holstered it. She then turned around and stopped. There, slumped against the wall, was Nautica Macavity. She was unconscious. There was also an eerie blood trail on the wall behind her. Carmelita was mildly baffled about what had taken place in this room. She could not remember. She did remember following Nautica to this office and that Nautica had tried to assassinate her own father, but Carmelita had interfered. She then recalled that the two of them struggled over weapons and then exchanged some verbal insults. But… after that, she could not recall what else happened. Her memory was hazy and all she could remember was mind-numbing rage. She recalled that Joseph Macavity was also in the room, but he was no longer there. But he had been injured by his daughter. So… that meant that she must of attacked… she felt ill all of a sudden. She may have killed Nautica Macavity. She wasn't even sure if the other vixen was dead. Her head began to reel as panic, disgust, and shame battled for dominance in her mind and heart.

Just as panic began to win the mental war, smoke flooded the room. She began to cough and sputter as she choked on the hot smoke. The smoked burned her eyes causing tears to leak from them. She stumbled towards where she vaguely recalled the door was. Her vision was rapidly deteriorating due the tears blurring her vision and the thick smoke obscuring it. She stumbled through the doorway gasping for air. When she reached the hallway, she crashed into the opposite wall hacking violently as her lungs worked to expel all the toxic smoke she had inhaled. After a moment, she continued running and dug into her memories for the directions she needed in order to escape the labyrinth of offices. Finally, she reached the front of building and stopped short when she saw all the Interpol police officers and emergency personnel investigating the scene. Carmelita looked about wearily. She wasn't sure how many of the officers were on Macavity's or Nautica's payrolls, but she knew she couldn't stay in the burning building either. She slowly slinked back towards the darkened doorway as she continued to quickly survey the assembled crowd for a trustworthy face. She was so focused on what was already in front of her that she did not notice that someone had come around the corner behind her. The unknown assailant reached out and grabbed the vixen by the shoulders. Carmelita's heart nearly stopped, and she whirled around with a fist primed and ready to fly. But she came up short when she stared into the hazel eyes of her older sister, Carmen.

"Damn it! Carmen, you scared me!" she hissed as she relaxed against the wall and rested her hand on her chest.

"Carmelita! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Carmen. Carmelita took another moment to calm her raging heart and then spoke,

"I received a text message from someone saying about a fire fight that had broken out over here. I came to investigate." Carmelita hating keeping things from her sister, but this situation was too complicated to talk about here. Plus, her sister would probably explode if she knew that Sly was here, too. She followed her sister out into the parking lot and continued to look around warily. Carmen noticed her tense behavior and asked,

"¿Estàs buena? What's wrong, Carmelita?" Carmelita's head whipped around to stare at her sister. She had been lost in her thoughts when Carmen had called out to her and startled her once again.

"We need to get away from the building, the back half is on fire! But, I am not sure who I can trust out here, given that both Nautica and her bastard father both had Interpol officers on their payroll." She growled. Carmen looked scandalized.

"No me digas. Who? " she asked eagerly.

"Justin, Pápa, Rochelle, others that we don't know about. It is amazing what people will do to keep from facing criminal charges." mumbled Carmelita nastily.

"Pápa! Surely you jest, Carmelita!" gushed Carmen in disbelief. "I don't believe it!" Carmelita just looked sadly at her sister and sighed.

"I am glad that you believe something, Carmen… because, I do not know if I believe in anything anymore." She admitted. Carmen stared at her younger sister perplexed and slightly worried. Carmelita has been through a lot during the last 6-6 1/2 years. First, she had disappeared a year before she took on the Cooper case, Carmen now believed that during that year she was missing, Nautica Macavity forced her to carry and give birth to Desiree Monroe. Then Clockwerk held her prisoner during the Fiendish Five fiasco. Then two years later she would be framed and betrayed by Neyla, this time nearly losing her badge. Carmen had a feeling that her poor Carmelita had been through more than she had ever said during these trying situations. Now this situation with Cooper and his daughter is another problem added to her sister's long list of troubles.

"Oh Carmelita," Carmen sighed softly, her heart aching. "When this mess is over, you are to take a vacation. That is an order, not a request. Comprende, dear?" Her voice had started off melancholy but lightened up to a slightly teasing tone towards the end. Carmelita made a face, but relented. She knew that her sister worried about her. Carmelita was starting to worry about her own health, after seeing what she may have done to Nautica Macavity in a fit of rage. She looked at her sister and nodded softly. Carmen started jogging out towards the parking lot where the other officers were gathered with Carmelita hot on her heels. The smell of gunpowder and burned flesh and fur hit Carmelita in the face. It was the middle of July and about 9:00 pm at night. The night was clear but the air was hot and muggy due to the flames and gun fire. This humid and balmy weather made smells thicker and harder to get rid of. Carmelita practically felt the toxic mix of the thick July humidity and the rotting stenches sticking to her fur and hair and merging with her own sweat. She fought hard not to start wiping the grimy feeling off her fur and complaining childishly about how icky it felt. Carmelita slowed down to walking pace once she and her sister were farther away from the burning edifice. As the adrenaline started to wear off Carmelita remembered the state she had left Nautica Macavity in and the fact that she had left her in a burning building.

"Carmen, I think that Nautica Macavity is dead. I—" Carmelita trailed off as words failed her. Carmen had slowed down at the same time Carmelita had and was matching her sibling stride for stride. Carmelita's heart was in her throat as she tried to find the exact words to explain what happened between her and Nautica Macavity. But before she could begin to explain, a young male officer jogged up to both of them and said in a hurried voice,

"Lieutenant, Captain! Look what I found in the alleyway over there!" he pointed back towards building and off right to of it. He then held up a very familiar looking cane. Carmelita's eyes widened. Her heart speed up even as it was filling up with dread. That was Sly's cane! Part of her was silently praying that he was okay and the other part was trying to figure out how to find him and Macavity without looking suspicious. The young officer single-handedly answered her prayers. "I brought this to you, Lieutenant, because I know you worked on the Cooper case. Do you think the raccoon's coming out of retirement?" Carmelita almost smiled. But instead she schooled her features into an indifferent expression as she looked at the young officer and held her hand out for the weapon. The young raccoon, ironically, handed over the cane.

"Lead the way, Constable, but be careful not get too close the building. There is a fire blazing inside, I don't know how much longer it will remain structurally sound." she insisted. But she almost laughed as the officer tried not to take off at an excited run. Instead, she just looked at her sister with a slightly nostalgic expression and a sardonic smile that Carmen snorted at as the two sisters followed at a more sedate pace. Carmen took her radio from its holder at her hip and put it to her lips. She communicated to dispatch and her superiors that she was en-route to apprehend Joseph Macavity and, possibly, Sly Cooper...

**Back to our favorite thief…**

Sly whirled around to face the newcomer to the fight. He immediately gasped and clutched his midsection as his cracked and bruised ribs burned in protest. He immediately noted that the unknown assailant was shorter than he was, but he slowly dropped back into a fighting stance again. He knew better than to underestimate any opponent. Both the Contessa and Clockwerk had taught him that lesson the hard way. But, he did not know long he would last against this person though; since his ribs were a huge liability at the moment. The figure slowly made their way towards Sly; their eyes were dancing in amusement as they gazed into Sly's stoic brown ones. Sly could make out the person pretty clearly; since there were no large shadows on the dimly-lit but unadorned rooftop. Sly's eyes nearly popped out his head when realized that the intruder was not only female, but also another feline. He looked at the twitching tail behind the unknown individual hoping that he could ascertain what type of feline they were. He noted immediately that they had white fur, although the fur looked gray in the dim light. They also had oval shaped stripes on the top half of their tail, while the bottom half was pure white.

Sly quickly surmised that the person was a snow leopard. Then he noticed an odd pattern above one of the stripes on the snow leopard's tail. Four evenly- spaced and identical black spots seemed to hover above the stripe. Sly immediately knew that the person who had been applauding his martial arts exhibition was the very person who had taught it to him… his mother. He eased up on his stance just enough, so that he could dip his head in a bow, bowing any deeper would have put him on the concrete in pain from his protesting ribs. He watched as his mother repeated the gesture with the same grace that she had always had. Although the slight bow he had given her was a respectful one, his tone was flat.

"Hello, Mother," She slowly began to approach him as she returned his greeting.

"Hello Sylvester," she purred. Sly cringed at the use of his pseudo middle name. He never really liked it. But that was not the point at the moment. The snow leopardess was now standing before him. Sly did not say anything for a moment. Conflicting emotions were warring with in him. One emotion was relief, he was relieved to know that she was alive and doing well. But on the other hand, he felt angry, betrayed, and hurt. Why had she left him? If she had been alive all this time… why did she leave him at the orphanage? Did she just not want him? There were times when he was sure his father didn't. The conflict he was struggling with must have shown on his face because his mother spoke,

"I know you must not be completely happy to see me, Sylvester, or should I say… Sly." Sly's eyes widened. How did she know? "But if she had been in hiding, then…" His racing thoughts screeched to a halt. Confusion immediately became consumed by rage.

"You… were watching me! You knew where I was… what I was doing…" Sly gasped out, his head reeling. Amaya cringed as every accusation that her son threw at her assaulted her like slaps to the face. Her heart writhed painfully in her chest. She had never meant to cause Sly this much pain, she only wanted to protect him. She had not really been watching him; she just caught what information she could about him on the television. She had been occupied for most of his life by trying to take down the man responsible for Connor's death. Clockwerk had killed Connor; that much was true but he would have never found Connor, if _he_ had not given up the raccoon's location. She made the hard decision to let the system have Sly, rather than to take him with her. She was truly terrified that if she did, she would have led that psychopath straight to the vault's key and her son. She could only watch for a few heartbeats as her son sputtered in denial, then she finally swallowed the lump in her throat and attempted to explain her actions.

"Sly, I never thought that things w-would end up the way they did…" she tried to apologize, but Sly cut her off.

"You thought?" he rasped then bit his tongue. There was no point in yelling at his mother, and this certainly wasn't the place to do it. "Okay, let's start over. We can both agree that there is a lot that needs to be said between the both of us, correct?" His mother nodded but did not speak. "Unfortunately, we are in an area that is not conducive to this kind of conversation. So, do you mind if we just stick to the important things? Like… Why are you here?" The leopardess groaned, but then laughed. Sly had a lot of her personality in him, including her need to get to the heart of a matter quickly and efficiently.

"Revenge, , Macavity-san, he is partly responsible for the death of your otou-san. He gave some technology to an old enemy of your father's in exchange for a page from the Thievius Raccoonus. In turn, the enemy tracked Connor down with the technology he got from Macavity. He then sold Connor's location to Clockwerk in exchange for supplies and information. And as you well know... Clockwerk and his gang murdered your father. Long story short, I came to steal back the page, which is actually a very important page of the family book. I know you have the rest of it." She admitted. Sly gaped dumbly.

"So Macavity has a page of the Thievius Raccoonus that he basically bought with my father's blood as payment?" blurted Sly. His mother nodded solemnly. "What page does he have? I don't remember seeing a page missing." Amaya shook her head.

"Of course, you wouldn't notice if a page was missing, Sly. You had never seen the Thievius Raccoonus whole." replied his mother. Sly's heart jumped into his throat.

"What do you mean by I have never seen the Thievius Raccoonus whole?" Sly hissed. His mother frowned and admonished her son sharply,

"Sly! Control your temper!" Sly winced and backed down; he knew from experience that his mother took crap from no one. "And to answer your question, the reason you never saw the Thievius Raccoonus whole was because your father ripped a page out of the book after we argued one night." Sly just stared at her.

"Why?" he asked clearly stunned. Amaya came up short again. She wasn't sure what to tell her son. Just then more gunshots rang out. This was followed by the cries of the injured and the police that were attempting to apprehend the remaining thugs on the premises. Amaya watched her son start suddenly. He warily looked about as if he just realized that there were cops here. She realized that this might be a good time to make a run for it; because, she was completely at a loss. She did not know where or how begin telling her son about what a complicated man his father was or her own story and mistakes. He would need it all to understand why that page was so important to Cooper line and he needed that information to ensure that he would not make the same mistakes that Connor and she made. They were the reason that things went to hell like they did. Amaya started to shift her weight to her left leg in order to turn around and run, but Sly chose to refocus on her at that moment. "Tell me; why did he do it?" His eyes were two hard, bitter orbs of dark chocolate full of what seemed to be nothing but accusations. To Amaya, it looked as if he had known she was about turn tail and run. She stared at Sly a moment, before his accusing stare and her own guilt became too much. She began to hallucinate.

It seemed that the longer she stared at her son, the more Sly seemed to grow and age before her eyes. He grew taller and more rugged in appearance. His ears had begun to droop toward the pavement until they hung limply on either side of his head. His tail hung limply behind him and his eyes took on a hollowed, yet wildly desperate look. His fur had slowly become dull and matted. It was as if Amaya was looking at looking at a ghost.

"No…" she whimpered pitifully in her head. She was so caught up in her delusion that she never realized that she had spoken aloud, too. So, when Sly blurted out in an agonized and confused tone,

"Why not? Why mom? Why?" Amaya heard Connor's raspy tenor hiss,

"Why, huh? Why 'Maya? Why didn't you tell me my best friend wanted to kill me! Why?" Amaya stumbled backwards and cried out,

"Please! I don't know! Forgive me!" wailed the leopardess miserably. She stumbled backwards and fell this time. She could only look up at the apparition through blurry and pleading eyes. "Gomen… Gomenasai, Connor!" she sobbed.

Meanwhile, Sly could only watch in horror as his mother fell apart before his eyes. What was going on? Why was she calling him Connor? Connor was… his father's name. Why was she mistaking him for his father?

"Mom! What's wrong?" Sly called. Then a burst of static in his ear nearly caused Sly to jump out of his fur.

"It looks like she suffering from a delusion of some sort," said Bentley. "But we don't have time to figure exactly what caused her melt down. You have two choices at this point: either grab her and make your way back to the van or leave her and still make it back to the van. Because there are… "

"You were listening, this entire time?" Sly practically yelled. Bentley winced.

"Well sort of. I can't help but listen. We always keep receivers two-way during a job, remember?" Sly could only sigh and nod.

"Yeah," the raccoon finally said, "Sorry about that. I am not in the best of moods right now."

"I can tell." The turtle snorted. "But you need to make a quick decision! From what I overheard on the police radio, Carmen and Carmelita is on their way up!" Sly thought quickly.

"Bentley? You guys are still in place?"

"That's an affirmative." replied the reptile.

"Good. I am sending my mother down. She looks like she could use some sleep." said Sly.

"Noted." said Bentley. Sly was confident that Bentley would make sure that his mother rested in the van. Finally, he walked over to his distraught mother and gently slipped his arm around her waist and hoisted her to her feet. He quickly walked his sniffling mother to the edge of the roof. He pointed out the black van that Bentley and Murray were hiding and said,

"Head over towards the van and rest, I need to finish up with Chester the Cheetah." said Sly, pointing over his shoulder towards Macavity's prone form. His mother nodded dazedly. The snow leopard seemed to pull herself together somewhat before she leapt from the roof without warning. Sly watched her descent with little interest and just before she hit the ground, he spoke into his earpiece/microphone that was connected to his Binoc-u-com, "She's headed your way." He watch as his mother made her way over to the van and after a moment the door opened and she hopped into the van. Sly let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He had not been sure if she would have ran the moment her paws had touched the pavement. He slowly turned back towards the fallen feline. After a moment Macavity began to stir and cough,

"Well done... Sly Cooper. You have bested..." he wheezed out before becoming overcome by a coughing fit, "me... but at what cost to you?" The cheetah slowly crawled to his knees and wrapped his uninjured arm and hand around his ribs. Sly did not really pay attention to the cheetah's weak taunting, he instead briefly wondered if he had broken a few of the old cat's ribs. He slowly made his way towards the fallen cheetah to try to finally finish the fight. Macavity could only watch Sly coldly from his position on the roof. Sly was amused when Macavity began to mutter a bunch of oaths under his breath. Sly grinned as he started to ask Macavity to repeat himself when another explosion rocked the building. This was followed by a screech and a roar as the building began to collapse.

Sly could only scream as he felt the concrete beneath his feet give way. He barely heard Bentley's shout in his ear. Sly knew he was falling fast but time had seemed to slow down around him. But the only thought that was running through his head was that he was not going to see his daughter ever again. He had come out of retirement to save her, which he had managed to do. But now he himself was very close to death. There was not one trick in the Thievius Raccoonus that could save him. Even if he could use the time slowing or stopping techniques, he would not have time to escape the flames or the other falling the debris. He could only wish that he could have seen Desiree one last time. He actually felt his heart start to ache with the need to see his daughter. He had already lost so much in his life and now it was about to end. All of a sudden, a spark ignited in his heart as he thought fiercely, "No! I won't give in that easily! I can't!" Then that small flame in his chest turned into a violent blaze. Then all the air around him seemed to start traveling faster and Sly felt like he was being sucked into a tornado. Then Sly felt like he was being squeezed through a straw. A sudden flash of bright light impeded the thief's vision and then Sly felt nor saw anything else...

(A/N: I really felt like ending it, here... but I decided to be nice.)

**On the ground...**

Everybody was panicking, no matter what side they were on. Carmelita could only gape in absolute horror as the burning building collapsed in on itself. Sly must have been somewhere in that building! Her heart had practically stopped and she was holding her breath as the top of the building finally met the ground it had been sitting on top of for years. Inside her head she was screaming in denial, but on the outside she only looked shocked. Carmen was swearing in disbelief. The Interpol officers and thugs alike could only stare at one another in utter bewilderment. Carmelita knew she had to start doing something when she nearly broke down at the thought of Desiree's heartbroken expression when she had to tell her little girl that her daddy was dead. So, she turned to her old tried and truth method of distraction- work. She raced up to the fallen constable that had been leading them to the cane's prior resting place. The constable had been a lot closer to the blast than she and her sister were. He had been blown off his feet, and had landed hard on the pavement. Carmelita was relieved to see that the young Interpol officer only had a few scrapes on his face from the flying debris. Carmelita reached down grabbed the raccoon's arms and began to drag him far from the smoldering rubble. Carmen dropped to her knees and started to shake the constable to bring him back around. The silver and ebony-furred man groaned softly before he opened his eyes.

"Doing alright there, Constable?" asked Carmen. The raccoon blinked rapidly and groaned again before he tried to sit up. Carmen helped the young man to sit up completely.

"Thanks, I wasn't expecting that." he rasped out. Carmelita and Carmen chuckled bitterly.

"We weren't, either." said Carmen. Carmelita was trying to play it cool, but she was desperate for information about Sly.

"Constable, you said you found the cane in the alleyway, verdad?" she asked. He nodded softly as a paramedic started to check him over.

"Actually, it almost fell on my head. I looked up and thought I saw two shadowy figures moving around on the rooftop." he further explained. Carmelita felt a sharp pang in her heart as her hope died a painful death at the words. Carmen took it one step further and buried it for Carmelita,

"That sounds like Cooper's usual MO, nice job Constable. We'll probably need to look for bodies or what's left of them." said Carmen matter-of-factly. She gave Carmelita an apologetic look when she caught her sister wincing. The officer was finally hauled to his feet with the help of Carmen, Carmelita, and the paramedic. Once the paramedic and the officer were out of earshot, Carmen went to her sister and tried to offer some comfort. Carmelita practically sank into her sister's arms and let out a small, agonized sob. Why did things always end this way for her? Why was she always having to sacrifice something? First, she had lost her only daughter, then she nearly lost her job, her father was barely clinging to life, and now she may have lost her chance at loving again. She held on to her sister a few more moments until she had pulled herself back together again. Finally, she stepped back and looked towards the pile of rubble that used to be Joseph Macavity's stronghold in France. She got back to work to keep her mind off of her newest loss. After about 10 minutes, she turned to bark some orders to a gaggle of still gaping officers, when her cell phone rang. She answered it quickly without looking at the caller id.

"Hello? Whoever you are, I will have to call you back." she said softly, "I am at a crime scene." She almost dropped the phone when an achingly familiar voice said,

"Carmelita..."

**A few minutes before this, though...**

Bentley Turtle could only gape dumbly at his computer screen. He had restarted the computer twice. He initially thought that something had been interfering with his computer, but now he could only stare.

"Impossible. How?" sputtered Bentley. All the occupants of the van had seen the building collapse after a large explosion rocked the building. Sly's mother had actually screamed. Bentley had, too. Bentley had felt something die in him when the building went down. To the turtle, it felt as if part of his family had died. In a way, it had. Sly and Murray was the only thing that he had that resembled a family. Murray had to climb into the back of the van when Sly mother had collapsed moments before. She had been revived and was currently grieving in the front passenger seat of the van. Bentley had been trying tune her out, lest he lost his composure as well. He had tried repeatedly to contact Sly but received no reply.

But what was currently holding his attention, was his computer's strange behavior. When the building had started to collapse, the marker that marked Sly's position in the field was still in the section of the schematic that labeled as the roof of the building, but after a moment the marker completely disappeared. At first, he thought that the Binoc-u-com had been crushed by the debris, but then the marker appeared on the screen again. But in a different location than expected. The building that the marker was currently residing in was _thirty minutes _away from the Macavity compound. There was no way the locator part could have flown that distance even with the extra air and velocity that could have come from the explosion. What was going on? Finally, after staring at the screen for a few moments, he heard a call come through his Binoc-u-com link on the computer. His heart began to hammer in hope and anticipation. He tentatively clicked on the icon that would answer the call. Bentley nearly did cry when he saw Sly's tired face on the screen.

"Sly! Thank God! What the hell happened?" he blurted out. Sly rubbed his eyes and murmured,

"I don't know, Bent. I was hoping you could tell me." Bentley sighed in relief and responded,

"I don't know either, Sly. But I am so relieved you are ok! Where are you? I still see your marker, but I don't believe it."

"Paris Memorial, Bent... I am in Paris Memorial Hospital..." he whispered in softly...

**At Paris Memorial Hospital...**

Sly was currently on the phone with Carmelita. She had not spoken a word to him yet. He had just terminated a brief transmission to Bentley. After another moment of silence, Sly called her name again. Finally, he heard a voice whisper back,

"Sly?" Sly smiled slightly. He loved the way she said his name.

"Yeah, it's me, Carmelita. You won't believe this, but I am standing in Desiree's room on the Peds ward." said Sly. He heard her gasp in shock before she spoke into the receiver again.

"Qué? How did you end up there? Un momento..." Sly snorted at the question. That was the question of the hour wasn't it? Sly remembered feeling the oddest squeezing sensation, then he felt like he was floating, then he was falling until he hit a solid surface, and then he fell unconscious. Sly had regained consciousness to find that he had been laying on a tiled floor. The lights were dim and the walls were white. Sly had felt a strange connection with the place he was in. He had rolled onto his side and saw the end of a sheet. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. Then he could see that sheet was covering a hospital bed that was currently empty. But then he noticed that the room was not completely empty. He slowly climbed to his feet as he looked around at all the stuffed animals and balloons that occupied the wall nooks and the sink. He realized with an incredible amount of shock that he was standing in his daughter's room in the pediatric ward of Paris Memorial Hospital! The best guess he had was that he may have teleported. If he did, this would be the second time he had created an impossible and unpublished thief move on the fly. He could only marvel at himself a few seconds before Carmelita's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Sly, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here." he said softly as he lowered the bar on the side of Des's bed that was closest to him. He sat on the crisp and startlingly white blankets and sheets.

"Lo siento, I had to move to a safer location to talk in. How in the world did you end up in Paris Memorial Hospital, Sly?" She all but demanded.

"As I told Bentley... I don't know. I think I may have teleported here out of desperation." He answered. There was no response for a moment, then he heard a sniffle. "Carmelita?"

"I thought- you- dead-" she managed to choke out before a sob prevented her from saying anything else. Sly felt his heart constrict.

"Please don't cry, Carmelita. I am alright, I swear. A little shook up at worst." Sly tried to reassure the vixen.

"I'm sorry. There is just too much going on right now. I don't think I can keep up." whispered Carmelita. Sly felt his own exhaustion start to weigh him down.

"I know what you mean. I-" Sly started to explain about the awkward meeting between himself and his mother, but then stopped as his own heart had seemed to jump in his throat at that particular moment. He worked to loosen the lump in his throat before he attempted to speak again. "I am having a rough time, too." As soon as he finished that sentence, he heard a noise outside the room. "I-I think someone's coming! I will see you tomorrow! Meet me at the hospital tomorrow, okay?" When he heard her soft agreement, he closed the cell phone and put it on silent, before slipping it in the pouch on his leg and slipped off the bed. He quickly, being careful not to aggravate any of his injuries, and quietly slipped the metal bar back into place. Then he quickly padded over behind the door as it opened and a nurse barged into the room. Sly took a deep cleansing breath before he focused on finding his center and tapping into his family's magic. Then he faded from view. As the nurse walked further into the room, seeking an intruder. She called out,

"Hello? Is someone here?" As the nurse continued to search under the bed, an invisible Sly slipped out of the still open door. He quietly made his way down the hall and did his best not to bump into anyone. He slowly made his way towards the locker room in the back of the hospital. Once he made it there, he located his locker and dropped the invisibility and opened it. He gathered up his duffle bag and other belongings. He made sure no was in the locker room or the men's showers, before he stripped off his ripped and dirty clothes. He then stepped into one of the showers and turned the water on full blast. He adjusted the water's temperature until it was as hot as he could stand it. He gritted his teeth as the bruises and cuts that covered most of his body burned and throbbed in protest. After his wounds' protest dulled to a throbbing ache, Sly reached for his soap and begin to scrub his fur and body clean. He whimpered as his body began to burn and sting as the soap cleaned out his open wounds. After 10 minutes of torture, he stepped out of the shower and dried off gingerly. He dressed in some normal clothing, including a black rain jacket. He finally placed his belongings into his locker again and locked it. Then he became invisible once more and headed to the employee entrance back of the hospital and walked through it.

He then walked out to the parking lot across the street and finally became visible again. He then started making his way back to the hospital's back entrance and used his name badge to enter the building. He then made his way through the building and up the stairs. He slowly made his way into the recovery unit on the surgery floor and slipped through the glass doors. One of the nurses on the night shift, a tall brunette gazelle, recognized him and waved him over.

"I knew you would be back on this floor before the night was over! She's the third cubicle down." she said as she smiled at him. Sly nodded in thanks and bid her good night, before he headed away from the nurse's station. The transplant surgery recovery unit was separated into large cubicles with glass doors and plastic barriers that separated the patient's bed and equipment from where their family observed them or slept. They helped to keep the patients from being exposed to pathogens after surgery, since their immune systems had been knocked out to decrease the chance of the transplant organ being rejected. He walked down the hallway until he came to the cubicle that housed his daughter. He slid the door open and stepped inside before pulling it shut. He slowly moved to closer to his daughter's bedside as he looked at the machines that were monitoring his daughter's health. He was relieved to see that all her vitals, including her heartbeat were strong and constant. He placed his hands against the plastic and just stared at the sleeping redhead.

He finally heaved a tired sigh as he went over to the opposite side of the room and pulled the chair that was sitting in the corner over next to barrier. He sunk into the chair as he continued to stare at his daughter. This little red-headed angel had been the only thing on his mind when that building had collapsed. He had wanted to see her so badly that he had teleported to her old hospital room. Now that he was by her side again, he found his mind drifting to other things. He wondered briefly if Joseph Macavity had actually died in the collapse? Even if the cheetah had somehow managed to survive, Sly felt that the cheetah was no longer a huge threat to his family now that he was a wanted fugitive at Interpol. He also wondered briefly what was so important about that missing page that his mother would come all the way to France to get it? He meditated on that question for a while before his tired and aching body began to succumb to sleep. He got up and moaned softly as his injured ribs burned and throbbed because he had been sitting down so long. He finally managed to move the chair back to its initial position, before stretching out on the sleeper sofa that occupied the adjacent corner.

**The next day… **

Carmelita groaned miserably as the sun streamed through her curtains. Carmelita had finally slinked into bed a few hours before. She at least wanted another two before she tried to start her day. She rolled over and tried to sleep some more but after thirty minutes of trying and failing, she got up with sigh. She stood up and stretch grimacing as a few bruises and sore muscles ached in response. She felt a little stiff in some places and decided to see if a shower would help relax her body. Trying to cleaning up the nightmarish scene that the Macavity Labs took all night. They even had to call in off duty police officers, firefighters, and medical personnel to speed up the process. Even with the extra personnel, Interpol was still at the scene cleaning up and pulling bodies from the refuse. There had been no word on whether or not Cooper's and Macavity's body had been found. Carmelita was truly only worried about finding Macavity's body, since she knew that the wily raccoon had somehow survived the fall... That raccoon had more lives than a cat! Maybe it was because he was part cat or at least feline?

She shook her head to clear the slightly amusing thought as she made her way to her shower. The fox sashayed her way to her the bathroom as she continued to dwell on the enigma that was Sly Cooper. She wondered briefly what life must be like for him growing up as a half-breed... learning how to steal... living in an orphanage? She probably would not have survived it all. Usually, environments like the one Sly grew up in would cause people to develop cynical dispositions at best and harden hearts at worst. But Sly Cooper was a an established "comedian", he often went out of his way to help others, even when it was not required. He had risked his life numerous times to save her own. He had taken in Desiree when any lesser person would have sighted Nautica's foul play as an excuse to not take care of the child. But he had immediately taken in the young vixen and did everything within his power to care for her, including retiring from thieving. Then he took over the care of Aurora Vencinette without a fuss. After their brief heart to heart last night, Carmelita was convinced that even though Sly had a tendency to speak in riddles or jokes, the man was genuine. She was worried by that particular line of thought... She was becoming soft on Sly and she wasn't sure that was a good thing. Other men had used her emotions against her and she was not sure if Sly would do the same thing.

As she let the hot water cascade over her, Carmelita realized that a lot of her fear was baseless. But she wasn't sure what was holding her back. Sly, for all intents and purposes, was a great find as a partner. She knew from experience that the thief was loyal, he had been willing to sacrifice his freedom to help clear her name and save his friends. He was intelligent as well, even though she believed that he toned it down to throw off enemies and make sure that he did not offend his friends. Carmelita actually felt humbled as she thought about how much Sly was willing to do for her even though they were not technically "friends". He had a great sense of humor about a lot of situations, he was also thoughtful and if his flirting was any indication: he was very eloquent. Carmelita knew she could make a relationship with the young thief/doctor work. But... he was still/was a thief... Carmelita sighed at her own stubbornness. She knew now what were problem was. She was absolutely terrified of letting go of her status quo. That would require her to let go of all her preconceived notions of men, criminals, and just about everything else she believed in.

Carmelita was, if a bit emotionally volatile, a creature of habit. Her entire life was one giant pattern. She constantly repeated the same missteps, habits, triumphs, and victories. She knew a lot of the her problem was that she was strictly a black or white person in many respects. This might not be a problem, if the world was monochromatic, or at most grayscale and she was willing to see in shades of gray. But even then she barely gave quarter on anything. What was worse was the world was in Technicolor and most of the time just black and white did not exist. So, she was always left clutching air so to speak... She sighed again as she proceed to clean herself up. That was her greatest flaw and biggest obstacle... she hated to modify her beliefs on anything. But if she wanted to make this thing with Sly work for her and Desiree's sake, she was going to have to let go of some things.

As she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, she decided that she would discuss it with Sly when they meet up today at the hospital. She wrapped her towel around her body as she continued on her way back to the bedroom. She hurriedly dried herself off and dressed for the day ahead. She was not scheduled to work until later. She decided that she would pick up her house and then go on to see Sly at the hospital...

**Meanwhile Sly was also getting ready for his day...**

Sly blinked slowly as he opened his eyes and tried to vaguely recall where he was. His sluggish and sleepy gaze finally focused on his daughter's sleeping form. Right... he was at the hospital... again. He sighed and sat up slowly. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he yawned heavily. He groaned miserably. His whole body arched and throbbed. Sleeping on that makeshift bed had not been a good idea. He knew eventually that he would have to see someone about all of his injuries, he just wasn't sure who it would be. He needed to get home and make sure that everybody made it back to his apartment. As he eased to his feet, his cell phone rang in pocket. He groaned but reached into his sweat pants and grabbed the device. He flipped open the phone and said,

"Hello?"

"Greetings, Houdini." came a raspy yet amused voice. Sly smirked slightly.

"Very funny, Bentley. Everybody made it back safely then?" he asked.

"Affirmative. As far as I know, I am the only one awake." replied Bentley. Sly walked over to the barrier and leaned his shoulder against it. He watched his daughter's chest rise and fall.

"I am on my way back there now. I slept at the hospital last night." said Sly as he pushed off the plastic and walked towards the door. "I'll see you in a bit!" He hung up the phone and stepped out the cubicle and ran straight into Dr. Akimji. The raccoon could only look up into his mentor's face in surprise for moment before he found his voice. But before he could speak, the lion did.

"Amber said you came in late last night. I thought you went home?" asked his mentor. Sly winced as he realized that his mentor either _suspected _that he had been doing something or he _knew_ he had been doing something he shouldn't have.

"I went to my office for a bit. Then I left." said Sly. The lion looked at the young man in front of him and shook his head. He knew the boy was being deliberately vague. The raccoon had large bags under his eyes, his breathing seemed to be shallow, and he seemed to be favoring his injured arm. The surgeon knew that Sly had been at the firefight at the Macavity Labs. He had put two and two together a long time ago. He had been contracted to keep an eye on this particular student and provide him with whatever he needed. It was apparent that he needed a medic and some sleep. So, Lamar was going to do what he was paid to do.

"Do you have a minute? I want to see you in my office." he said softly.

Sly swallowed nervously. Now he was sure that the lion knew something was up. If he went to Dr. Akimiji's office, there would be a greater chance of the lion noticing that he was suffering from new injuries. But if he refused, it would be a huge admission of guilt. Sly finally sighed and nodded. The lion turned and walked towards the front of the recovery ward. Sly could only follow along nervously. The two males walked down the halls together for a good 5 minutes without saying a word to each other. During those moments of silence, Sly's conscience decided to make itself heard. He felt awful for keeping so many secrets from the older doctor. Dr. Akimji had become more than just Sly's academic advisor, he had become a father-like figure to Sly. And just like with his real father, Sly could not bear to disappoint him. Finally, they reached the office and the feline gestured for Sly to sit down and indicated that he would return momentarily. After a few moments, the lion returned with some medical supplies and ordered Sly to remove his jacket and shirt.

"But-" Sly protested.

"Just do as I say, _Sly_." the lion ordered. Sly paled in dread. The only thought that Sly could process was, "He knows...". He had barely realized that he had just automatically started following the doctor's orders. He finally returned to reality when his side began to burn. He hissed but didn't pull away. He looked down and found the lion on his knees cleaning one of the abrasions caused by Joseph Macavity's claws. The claws had not gone in too deep but the scratches had been elongated by Sly's bucking when he was trying to knock the cheetah off his back. Sly could only watch nervously as the lion tended to his wounds. After a few moments, all the abrasions on the left side of his abdomen were cleaned and bandaged. "I don't think any of these are deep enough to need stitches, but they will hurt for a while." said the feline as he moved around to Sly's other side and started cleaning out those wounds. As Sly watched the lion continue to care for his wounds, his nerves and innate curiosity were driving him insane. He finally blurted out a question.

"How? How did you know about my past?" The lion finished putting the last bandage in place and then leaned back on his knees. He looked up into Sly's face as he said,

"I did my homework. The school was buzzing about a prodigy that had passed the _Baccalauréat général_ in the sciences at 15 and had finally decided to pursue medicine at 19. Then I get a phone call from the Chancellor stating that I am to be the advisor to the school's new pet project. When I started researching about a student named Destini Monroe, I got very little information other than information about his achievement on the _baccalauréat_. I had to go through a lot of trouble to find more information about him, but I finally found him. I have to say that I was shocked that a criminal would use his criminal name as a civilian identity. Usually, criminals devise a criminal name to hide their civilian identities behind." Sly could only gape and then sputter for a moment. Then he lowered he head, finally he murmured,

"Actually, I passed at 14." The lion looked at the somewhat shy resident and laughed. It was true... Sly took the _baccalauréat général _inearly July at the age of 14. His 15th birthday wasn't until the following September 23. (A/N: I know, I know... using the first game's release date is lame but I had no other information to go on. If anyone else knows a definite date, let me know and I will change it!)

"I apologize then... However, it does not change the fact that you are an intelligent and special young raccoon. But once I discovered who you were, I had a dilemma. What would I do with this information? Do I tell the proper authorities? Do I keep it to myself?" Lamar ducked his face under Sly's bowed head, tilted his head slightly until he caught the attention of Sly's downcast eyes before he continued to speak, "Then I remembered that no one I know in my line of work decided to be a doctor on whim. The process was and is a very arduous task for any one person to undertake, especially at such a young age. So, I decided to take a wait-and-see approach. When we met during the Orientation week I was floored. I was expecting you to be trouble, and you were the exact opposite." By now Sly had lifted his head up and Lamar was gently probing the raccoon' s ribs. Sly winced in discomfort. He bit back a swear word as the doctor's fingers came in contact with a cracked rib.

"Thank you for giving me a chance, Dr. Akimiji. I wouldn't have been able to save or take care of my daughter." said Sly softly. Lamar finished his inspection and climbed to feet. He then he unwrapped the bandages on the raccoon's shoulder and looked at the shoulder wound. The fur close to the wound had been shaved away to prevent fur from getting in the wound and causing an infection. The stitches had held but they had also aggravated the wound, which caused it to start bleeding again. He quickly cleaned away the blood and wrapped the wound in a clean bandage.

"You are quite welcome. Other than the cracked rib and abrasions you had on the sides of your abdomen, you only have some bruises to worry about. But I suggest that you take the next few weeks off to heal and take care of your daughter." suggested the doctor with a slight smile. Dr. Akimji began putting away the supplied that he had been using to clean Sly's wounds with and threw away any used non-washable materials. The lion finally returned to his office and sat across from his favorite student. "Before you leave, I am curious about why you would risk blowing your cover by getting involved the Macavity fire fight?"

"Macavity's daughter Nautica had something to do with my daughter's heart condition and Joseph Macavity attempted kidnap my daughter as well. That little stunt is what landed her in the hospital in the first place. They had to be stopped before they really harmed my daughter. I was ready to do whatever it took to make sure they were stopped." said Sly with a shrug of his uninjured shoulder. Lamar nodded in agreement.

"They were brilliant, but they had no regard for process or ethics. I also understand your instinctive need to protect your little girl from harm. I knew if it was my child, I would have strapped him to a train track before I let him harm my child... and I am a pacifist." said the lion. Sly nodded feelingly. "But I know I don't have to caution you about being careful. I am sure you realize that you would not be very useful to your daughter behind bars, don't you?" asked Dr. Akimiji with a teasing tone. Sly chuckled lightly, trying not to disturb his ribs.

"I do... I do." Sly responded...

* * *

**And... that's a wrap! I am extremely sorry for the long wait! I completed my Bachelor's of Science in Biology back in May, so I am currently out of school for the moment. I hope updates can become more frequent! I have already started on the last chapter, which will be an epilogue of sorts and set up the scene for the next installment. Thank you all for being patient and baring with me as I continue to work on this story. One last reminder, if you have not voted in my poll please do so in the next few weeks. I will close the poll on the day I post the last chapter of this fic! ALSO, PLEASE REVIEW! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU ALL THINK ABOUT THE STORY,EVEN ONE OR TWO WORDS! Lastly, I leave you with this snippet...**

_"After years of laying low, the tropical bird had finally made it back to France. He could finally reconnect with his wife and daughter..." _


	18. Chapter 18

Hellllooooo! I cannot believe I am _**almost through**_ with this story! But... I decided that I would divide the last chapter into 2 parts so it would not be 20,000 to 30, 000 words long. Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this that makes me so happy. Even though this story is over, this is by no means the end of the Strangers Like Ups saga. There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. I believe I have written out a story that you guys will enjoy. Also, I thought you all would be pleased to know that I have finished the first chapter of the Strangers Like Us sequel: Second Impressions as well as completed a significant portion of chapter 2. Before I forget, the poll results are as follows:

**Naruto: 2**

**Kingdom Hearts: 5 **

**Stranger's Like Us sequel: 28**

**YuGiOh!: 0**

**Surprise Us: 9**

**Remember the voting ends when Chapter 19 is posted!**

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, Adolf Hisser, Margalo, Amarianni, and Aurora Vencinette, Mark, Shadow, Suzuki, Dr. Lamar Akimji, and Uta Amaya belong to me, and Carmen Fox belongs to Kitty Petro.

**Warning: **I have taken a lot of artistic license with Sly's past and the timeline involving the original Fiendish Five jobs and the Clockwerk parts caper. Please just be open minded and I will try to make this as intriguing as possible.

**Chapter 18**

Sly felt like kicking himself. How could he have forgotten about his cane? The thing practically identified Sly as a Cooper. Sly supposed he could cut himself some slack, since he was fighting for his life when he lost it. But it still didn't change the fact that his family heirloom was sitting in the evidence chamber in Interpol's French Headquarters. He had not even realized that he did not have it until he got back to his apartment and was practically bowled over by his mother, Bentley, and Murray... at practically the same time. Initially he had grunted from the pain their actions had caused, but by the end of it all he was laughing. Sly had taken the duffle bag with all of his thieving equipment and clothing home to be washed, cleaned, and put away again. He had retreated to his bedroom to unpack. His mother had followed him like a faithful pet. Sly could understand her hesitation to leave his side. He had experienced the same fright with his own daughter. After she was hospitalized he had hated to leave her side. When he was separated from Desiree his heart would beat in a constant panicky and almost erratic pattern due to the fear fueled images of his daughter dying alone and scared while he was gone. Even in that moment, his heart had sped up in apprehension at the thought.

However, when he reached bottom of his duffle bag, he realized that he was missing one of his more valuable possessions. When he mentioned the missing heirloom to his mother, she had practically freaked out. She had almost stormed out of the apartment to go get the cane herself! She probably would have done so, too, if Sly had not intercepted her mid-stride and insisted on knowing why she was so keen on him getting that cane back.

"That cane is the key! If he finds out that the key is just sitting around in Interpol, he'll take it! Then the Cooper legacy will be ravaged! He already owns the damn island!" she ranted more to herself than to Sly. Sly could only stare at his mother in bewilderment for moment. Just what was he missing here?

"Mom, you must elaborate... clueless son, remember?" Sly called out after a moment of silence. His mother looked up and said,

"You were always so impatient, Shaun..." she sighed. "According to Connor, the cane allowed him and only him to enter the family vault." said his mother distractedly. Sly smirked at his mother's use of his birth name. They only people that used that name on the regular basis was the other interns that he worked with and his teachers. He only ever used it in school. Even Bentley and Murray had continued to call him Sly. But as the meaning of his mother's explanation hit him Sly murmured,

"What vault are you talking about?" His mother walked to the edge of his bed and sat down on it. The bed was a queen size black Japanese platform bed with a set of black satin sheets and a dark blue cotton comforter. The mattress was a pillow-top with a firm base. Sly's room was actually the smallest room in the apartment. It also in front of Des's room. That had been unintentional at first, he was just being lazy. He had been forced to rent the two bedroom apartment because it was the only one available near the university that he could afford on a _student's _budget. While Sly Cooper was worth a few hundred thousand in legit tender and probably a few million in illicit and legit tender together, Shaun Monroe was just a somewhat broke university student. So, an apartment was more in line with the sort of housing most students could afford, if they did not live in provided housing. Sly wanted as little contact with surveillance and supervisors on his off time as possible. The more people keeping an eye on him, the higher the chance that some could find out something he did not want them to. So, needless to say, he took the apartment. He had decided to sleep in the first room, so that during all night rounds and study sessions, Sly would only have to travel a little ways to make it to bed. Plus, he did not need the extra space the master suite provided.

"The Cooper Family vault. This vault was rumored to be the hiding place for the clan's wealth for generations. We had made stops there before, but no one had seemed to been making sure the place was kept up, because the bridge leading into the main cavern was out, so only me and Connor could enter it, theoretically. But I never went in because of my respect for Connor and his legacy." said his mother. Sly raised his eyebrow in question.

"So, I am assuming one of my father's former "friends" is trying to work his way into the vault? And having trouble cracking it?" asked Sly. The leopardess nodded softly. Sly sighed. This complicated things. Sly had been entertaining the notion of pretending that he was well and truly dead. That way he could completely integrate into his civilian life. Desiree and Aurora would not have to worry madmen coming after them until the girls gave them a reason to. But now, it looked like he would be forced to steal the cane back to keep it out of the hands of another _thief_! Sly just could not catch a break. He sighed miserably. Finally, he walked over to bed's matching black nightstand and grabbed a well used ink pen. He went over to the closet and opened the door. He reached in and pulled out a small black duffle bag and started rummaging through it. Then he produced a simple prepaid cell phone. It had a simple rounded rectangle shape, the buttons were white and oval-shaped with black numbers printed on them. He threw the phone next to the cardboard card and pen, before he called for Bentley and Murray.

"Yeah, Sly?" said Murray as he ducked and twisted through the doorway. Bentley soon wheeled himself into the room once Murray was clear. The raccoon turned to his lifelong companions and said,

"We need to get my cane back ASAP. My mother informed me that a former acquaintance of my father is trying to break into a large vault that belongs to my family. The cane is the key to the vault."

"And if this "acquaintance" gets their hands on it, they have a free pass to your family's loot?" surmised Bentley. "But my main question is: How do you want to go about?"

"How soon will you guys be ready to go?" Sly tossed out in challenge. Bentley laughed loudly.

"As soon as Murray can bring me my laptop!" answered Bentley with a smirk. The hippo got the message and moved to retrieved the requested item. Sly sat down next to his mother and picked up the prepaid cell phone and dialed a specific number. Then he handed the phone to his mother and she giggled softly. The feline gave her son an amused look before she put the phone to her ear and waited for someone to pick up.

"Interpol switchboard..." said a voice. The leopardess took a deep breath and said,

"Hello? I need to speak with the officer in charge of the Macavity firefight incident. I think I spotted some of the thugs from the Macavity firefight. They were huddled in an alleyway near my home." The leopardess smirked as she heard the operator sigh.

"The current officer in charge is Constable Ian McGirth. But all tips and leads for this case are being forwarded to our tip line so that they can be verified as plausible leads before they are given to Constable McGirth." The leopardess grinned.

"Arig- I mean, thank you very much. Can you transfer me?" she asked in a naive sounding voice. The operator reassured her that they could transfer her and told her to hold on. They also said she was at the end of a very long line of calls. After five minutes of waiting, Amaya ended the call and handed the phone back to her son. Sly laughed.

"That was awesome, mom! As usual, you are the best!" Sly cheered. "So, who's on the case?"

"An officer named Ian McGirth?" she said after a moment, although she had some difficulty pronouncing his last name. Sly looked at her a long moment before he said in a quiet voice,

"_The _Ian McGirth?" She nodded as Murray walked back into the room and handed Bentley his laptop. After seeing his mother's confirming nod, Sly burst out laughing. The room's other three occupants could only look at the almost hysterical raccoon in shock and not a little worry. Eventually, Sly managed to pull himself together enough to talk coherently. "Ian McGirth is a bull that is full of nothing but bull. He is a textbook example of the saying, 'All brawn and no brain.' The guy is crazy arrogant and a bully. He has been trying to rise through the ranks of Interpol, but he is getting nowhere fast. According to Carmelita, he..." Sly's explanation trailed off as the raccoon descended into hysterics again. Sly finally cried out in pain when his ribs and other injuries started to protest en masse.

"Sly! Are you okay?" Bentley called out in concern as Sly doubled over momentarily in pain. Sly held up his hand as if to say 'wait a minute', before he sat up slowly.

"I am okay. I just laughed way too much. These ribs are going to give me hell for the next few weeks. But as I was trying to explain, Carmelita says this guy is an utter failure as a cop. Of course, that is not what Carmelita said exactly..."

"Well, what did she say?" asked Murray nonchalantly as he leaned against the wall next to the door. Sly grinned devilishly.

"She said and I quote, '¡No pudo encontrar su propia polla con las dos manos!' In other words, our bovine friend could not find his own manhood with both hands." answered Sly. Bentley and Murray cracked up at that with Amaya not far behind. Sly could only chuckle softly, because he knew that full out laughter caused his injuries to throb. After his mother and friends stop laughing, Sly said, "Run game on the bovine and you'll come out fine. I can't go, because I would be more of a liability than an asset. I have a cracked rib, two bruised ribs, and a multitude of lacerations and loads of contusions (bruises). The only thing I feel like doing is sleeping."

"Gotcha' covered Sly! I have several ideas in my brain that can work efficiently and effectively with only two people." Bentley said. "We will have your cane back in a few hours, Sly."

"Great. Listen, take this with you..." said Sly as he picked up and handed them the refurbished prepaid cell phone from earlier. "Make sure you destroy this when you guys are done."

"Of course, what do you think we are, Sly? Amateurs?" sniped Bentley. Sly grinned.

"No! I would never think that of you two!" he joked. The turtle snorted before Murray and he made their way out of the room to plan for and execute their latest orders, his mother followed them out in order to give Sly some privacy. Sly finished unpacking and put his things away. He changed into some pajamas and placed his soiled clothes in the wash, then he went to look for his mother. He did not see her in the living room, nor did he see her in the kitchen. But he did see Bentley and Murray in the kitchen. They spoke briefly about how to retrieve his cane, before Sly resumed his search. He became increasing frustrated and heartsick with every room he found empty. He was almost sure she had run away again, but then he decided to check one more room. He finally found her sitting on Desiree's bed in stunned silence. He tentatively called out to her.

"What are you doing in here?" She jumped. The leopardess turned to her son and tried explain her actions,

"I-I was really just being nosy. I fell asleep on your bed once we made it back to the apartment. Then we all sat in the living room and waited on you to get back when morning came. So, I decided to... look around for a bit. And I found..."

"My daughter's room." finished Sly as joined his mother on the bed. The bed was tucked into the corner opposite the only window in the room. The bed had emerald green sheets underneath a white comforter with emerald green vines meandering all over it. Sly traced one of them with his finger as he continued talking,

"Desiree is 7 years old. She is currently a resident of Paris Memorial Hospital due to heart complications and has recently undergone a heart transplant. So, this place has been empty for quite a few weeks and will be empty for a little while longer, although, I need to figure out how to rearrange this room."

"Why?" whispered Amaya. Sly continued to let his eyes wander about the room.

"I adopted another daughter," Sly answered easily. "her mother died in the Euro Disney incident." Sly finally made eye contact with his mother. She looked right back at him and seemed to be searching his eyes for something.

"If that is what you want to do. The child... her mother is? I mean-" his mother faltered.

"Her mother is alive, but the situation is complicated." muttered Sly softly as he continued to look around the room and spotted a photo of Desiree and himself at the Zoo Bois de Vincennes last year sitting on wooden chest of drawers in a frame that had been hand painted and decorated by Desiree. It was white with yellow flowers with black centers painted on it to create a pattern all the way around the frame. In the photo, he was wearing a dark green shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, while Desiree was dressed in a white top with a green profile silhouette of Tinker Bell and a jean tier skirt. She was also wearing a green belt and sandals. She also had her bright red hair tied back with a green bow. They were standing in front of the giraffe enclosure; Desiree was perched on his left hip with her arms around his neck. One of his arms was holding her on his hip and the other was resting gently resting on her waist; both of them were grinning from ear to ear. He smiled, that had been a fun trip. He had been playing the violin for an amateur orchestra. They had been invited to play as part of an arts festival during the summer. Desiree had gone with him and they spent the day at the zoo before and after his performance.

"When was the last time you centered yourself?" she asked. "I can see that you are unbalanced." Sly winced. Between the late shifts at the hospital, worrying about Des, and trying to take down the Macavitys; he had not really had time to meditate as he knew needed to. His reasons for mediating were simple... he had a temper and a tongue to match. He knew he had come very close to flying off the handle as far as the Macavity incident was concerned. He made up his mind to do some as soon as he caught a few hours of drug induced sleep and finished his quick rounds at the hospital today.

"I have not meditated in a while, but I will. Once I get some more sleep, if I can, and complete my rounds." he promised as he stood up and walked over to the dresser. He picked up the picture and held it a moment. He then handed it to his mother and continued his explanation. "Nautica Macavity used her "father's" money to enhance the capabilities of their illegal medical facilities. She successfully created a genetically modified embryo using genetic material from Carmelita Fox and myself. Desiree is the result of Nautica's work." She looked at the picture a moment before she handed it back to her son.

"How did you find out about her?" she asked softly.

"Interpol eventually obtained enough evidence to force the "clinic" that Nautica was working in to close. But she moved Desiree to Happy Campers to help hide her illegal genetics work and to increase the odds that I would eventually find out that Desiree existed." he answered, "Although, I have to agree with Carmelita-"

"Agree with her about... what?" asked his mother. Sly sighed and gave his mother a sardonic smile,

"Who is being impatient now, mother?" The snow leopardess snorted in annoyance and Sly continued, "Anyway, Carmelita insisted that while Nautica was a genius, she was a highly disturbed and cruel one. I mean, Nautica created a child with the express intention of using her as a bargaining tool. Then she also saddles the child with a life threatening disability. Then her entire plan is dependent on variables that are completely out of her control. For example, what would have happened if Desiree had of died in infancy? Or let's say that I decided not to take Desiree in or another family adopted her before me? Nautica's plans would have been in tatters."

"A little impatience will spoil great plans." quoted his mother. Sly smiled slightly at the proverb. It described the situation in complete detail. Nautica tried to get too much done too quickly and came up with a plan that was good on paper, but would eventually be unable to stand up to reality. Heck, Sly had only met Nautical once in person and barely remembered most of _that_ meeting. He did not even remember who she was until his memories of their meeting returned to him a couple of weeks back. Sly finally looked his mother in the eyes and decided that both of them had been stalling long enough,

"Here is a proverb you were fond of saying, 'He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.' So, let's get to the point then. What happened?" he finally asked as he sat down next to his mother again. She frowned in confusion a moment before she replied,

"I am not sure that I understand your question."

"I mean what happened with you, dad, and the Thievius Raccoonus?" he asked. Amaya sighed heavily.

"That is a long and sordid story, son. I am not sure if you are even aware of the 'Thief Trials'."

"The what?" Sly blurted. The snow leopardess groaned again.

"The 'Trials' allowed the Coopers to fully access all the gifts available to the Cooper clan. Apparently, Slytankhamen had a son that was very greedy. Slytankhamen sealed up the more dangerous tricks to keep them out of his son's hands. At least... that is what he told me..."

"Whoa, Whoa... You spoke with Slytankhamen? How?" gasped Sly in shock.

"Yes. I used the missing page. The missing page was a test page. It contained a puzzle, the heir was supposed to solve the puzzle. Once the puzzle was solved the tribunal is summoned and the heir is tested. Each member of the tribunal tests the heir and if he or she passes all of them the heir is allowed to access all of the secrets of the clan. Connor spent years trying to crack that puzzle, I offered to help, but he was adamant about completing the puzzle and trials on his own. Honestly, he would not even let me look at the book," She sighed and shook her head, "But, all his possessiveness was rather useless, though." she muttered at last. Sly snorted.

"Why is that?"

"I could only read parts of it. Back then, I could barely read or speak any other languages other than the German, Chinese, and Japanese that was spoken in my home and neighborhood. The only entries that I could read were the ones written by Riorichi Cooper." she admitted. "Of course, you have the blood of a Cooper in your veins. Slytankhamen placed a lot of blood spells on the book to protect it and to make it useful for his descendents. One such spell insured that the all Coopers would be able to read and understand what was written within its pages, no matter what era and place they were from." explained Amaya. "I was not born within the Cooper clan so the spell would not activate for me. That is until I deciphered the test page." The leopardess's speech slowly tapered off until she was silent. Sly could only watch miserably as his mother eyes filled with pain and regret. He slowly placed his arm around her shoulders and held her.

"It's okay, you don't have to continue." Sly said softly. Amaya shook her head and said,

"No, I must tell you. I have learned the hard way that keeping secrets can be very detrimental... Your father enjoyed reminding us of how he was the only heir to the Cooper throne, how he would be the greatest thief that ever lived. On and on he went, I loved him dearly, but sometimes I wanted to stuff that godforsaken book down his throat!" she growled,"owever, I H

However, I thought beating him at his own game might take him down a notch. So, I located the test page at the front of the book and I was shocked to find that I could read it. Well, it was a simple logic puzzle. I figured it out after an hour or so of secret study. Afterwards, I was tested and made an honorary Cooper thief. My reward was having my awareness changed so that I could pick up new languages and read the visible pages of Thievius Raccoonus with no problem." Sly was slightly awed. His mother had impressed his ancestors so much that they made her an honorary Cooper.

"That is amazing!" said Sly as he squeezed her slightly in congratulations. She smiled at her son in thanks, but continued her story.

"Connor would finally complete the puzzle, too. However, when he was tested; he failed. I do not know exactly what caused him to fail, but he was beyond furious. I tried to comfort him but, for awhile, he was inconsolable. Finally, I convinced him to try again. He did, but he failed once again. When he recovered from his trial, he accused me of stealing his birthright. When I asked him what he was talking about; he blew up at me. He started yelling about how his ancestors were mentioning my name and how well I did. Long story short, Connor convinced himself that I had caused his failure." she admitted. Amaya stared at her son as he slowly turned his head and stared at the wall in front of them. She felt her heavy heart tighten in dread as she waited for her son's reaction.

"I don't know what to say, mom... I wasn't even born then. If I am honest, I know you better than I knew dad. I mean, I can only remember him visiting me in Germany once. Then the two years I was with him I only saw him on and off. When I did see him, it was usually during my father's many training sessions or during his "history lessons" where he would read stories from the Thievius Raccoonus. If you think I am going to condemn you, I am not. That argument was between you and dad; I am going to leave that between the two of you." Amaya released a relieved breath as Shaun turned to face her again. "But what I do want to know is how did Joseph Macavity get his hands on it?"

"He got the page off of an old acquaintance of your father's. He stole the page from Connor and sold it in exchange for equipment of some kind." she said simply. Sly frowned. He remembered that his mother mentioned an old acquaintance of his father's was also trying to break into the Cooper vault.

"Is this acquaintance the same one that is trying break into the vault?" asked Sly. His mother nodded, "But, why is it important to get the page back now? I mean, it is practically useless to someone who isn't a Cooper. Why did you stop pursuing someone that is trying to steal from our family to track down the page?"

"The page is more vital to you. He has been trying to break into the vault for the last 10 years. I doubt that he is going to be able to get into the vault anytime soon. Even if he did break into the vault, he would not be able to get past the fallen bridge." she answered quietly.

"Once again, I ask, why is the page important to me?" asked Sly crossly as he got fed up with all of the half answered questions. He finally stood up from the bed and walked over to window and stared out into the night beyond the apartment.

"Sly... our family is cursed." she finally muttered. "The only way for the curse to be broken is for you to retrieve the page, pass the trials, and then claim the vault."...

**With Bentley and Murray...**

Bentley and Murray were standing in the middle of an old back lot of a recently closed supermarket. The supermarket was a 5 minute drive from the Interpol headquarters. The plan was fairly simple. They were going to trick the officer into handing over the cane. Bentley was familiar with the way Interpol ran. Interpol was a pan-national organization that was dedicated to helping other countries capture elusive criminals that had skipped their home country's borders. For example, Lieutenant Fox could not arrest Sly in the name of Interpol. She would arrest him in the name of France, Germany, the USA, or whatever country has an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Then she would turn him over to whatever country had first dibs on him for sentencing and then the process would repeat with the other countries.

He and Murray were currently posing as two former Sûretéagents.* Bentley and Murray would use their personas to convince the officer that they needed the cane to help apprehend Sly Cooper. Before Bentley left Sly's apartment, the turtle had conducted a background check on Ian McGirth. Ian had been born into a large herd of semi-famous bulls. His father had been a well known fire chief and his brother, Fredrick McGirth, was a famous boxer in France. While Ian was considered a lazy failure in his family and a well know misogynist by his colleagues and former love interests. He had also been classmates with Lieutenant Fox. Bentley would use the bull's pride against him. It probably irked the bull to no end that Carmelita was his superior. He would probably love to have a chance at showing Carmelita up. So, Bentley was going to give it to him.

The personas that they were using used to be real people. But, unfortunately, David Lambert and Raymond Bonnet went missing during an undercover operation. When Bentley found their profiles on the MIA registry in the Sûreté database, it almost seemed like divine intervention to the turtle. The two gentlemen looked scarily similar to Murray and him. There were few differences between them. For example, Bentley's counterpart, David, had dark green eyes; while Raymond was a slightly darker pink than Murray. The two thieves decided that they would go with something simple. They were pretending to be two Sûreté agents in need of help with a case. They had driven here in the black van they had stolen at Macavity Labs. A hasty call to a well known, but former, car thief and former roommate of theirs got them a second unmarked vehicle, this one was a dark green Peugeot. It also had a used car tag on it. It was also hidden behind the old large green dumpsters in the back lot.

Bentley and Murray were inside of the van doing some last minute alterations to their disguises. Bentley was wearing a black sweatshirt and a pair of black drawstring shorts. Murray was wearing a dirty t-shirt and a pair of ripped blue jeans. He wore no shoes. He had grease and grime smeared on his face, arms, and hands. Murray was going to be their drop man. Given Bentley's current paralysis, the ruse would be more believable if Bentley played the part of the techie in the van. Bentley was currently hacking the Interpol website and databases with an old refurbished laptop. He did not want to risk Interpol getting a bead on his laptop for this simple drop job. He already had McGirth's email; he just needed his cell phone number. Once he got the number, he looked back at Murray. He found that Murray was sweating and pale.

"Are you okay, Murray?" he asked. The hippo was leaning against wall of the van.

"The-The Murray feels like he is going to mess the plan up! The Murray does not want to get us caught." he whispered. Bentley frowned. All during this mission and the one at the labs, Murray had doubted his ability to be of any use to the team. The turtle had been very glad that the labs plan had gone _mostly_ to according to plan and Murray had not been needed outside of his hijacking skills. Although, Bentley was still attempting to erase Sly's near death experience from his mind. But Bentley was becoming a little worried, though. His rotund friend _was_ going to mess up this _particular_ operation if he psyched himself out now. Bentley thought quickly. Murray usually stepped up to the plate when the gang really needed him. When the gang needed a driver, Murray would become the best driver there was. When Sly was knocked out during the confrontation with Rajan, he did not hesitate to run to Sly's defense. Maybe if Bentley could convince Murray that Sly's life, or at least his lifestyle, depended on this plan being a success; hopefully, Murray would be able to push aside his unease for the sake of helping Sly.

"Sly needs us to do this job for him. Someone is trying to steal Sly's heritage right out from under him. Who knows what is in the Cooper vault. They could find something that they could hurt Sly... or Desiree with." said Bentley in a gentle but urgent and firm voice. Bentley could only watch as Murray's eyes took on a "far away" stare. Bentley could only imagine what was what was going through his friend's mind. After all, no one was ever sure what went through Murray's mind in the first place. After a moment Murray seemed to return to the present reality they were in. But this time, instead of wide panicky eyes, clear yet intense eyes stared back at the turtle.

"The Murray is always ready to defend his friends from any and all danger! I will not fail a second time! I will march down to Interpol and pry Sly's cane from that fat bull's beefy hooves! I'll-" Bentley immediately cut off Murray's tirade with a quickly spoken,

"Whoa, hold up, big guy! I know you want to help Sly, but we have to do this covertly. We don't want Interpol after Sly again so soon! He is still recovering from the Macavity fiasco. Desiree is also still in the hospital. She will need plenty rest and recovery time at home, too. If we play our cards right, everyone will think that the Sly sighting was a hoax or a copycat. Given that there has not been a sighting of Sly in more than two years before his cane was found at the firefight, Interpol is already treating Sly's sighting as a "a rumored sighting". They are continuing to do so since no one has seen Sly or Joseph Macavity since the building collapse. So, if we replace the real cane with the fake, they will have no choice but to declare the sighting as being the work of a now dead copycat." said Bentley.

"Oh! They will think that Sly is still retired and stop looking for him!" said Murray as he caught on to the clever turtle's plan.

"Ehh... close, but not exactly. They have always been looking for Sly but the longer that he remains inactive; the less chance there is of Carmelita making Sly's case a priority. After a certain number of years without movement on a case, Interpol usually closes the case, unless there is a reason to reopen it. And after so many years without persecution, they can't charge someone with a crime, especially if what was rumored to have been stolen has been returned to the rightful owners and they wish no formal charges pressed against the criminal. So, most of Sly's older cases are considered closed or cold cases. Other more hot button cases are being placed ahead of searching for a raccoon that hasn't committed any crimes in two going on three years. We want to keep it that way, besides no one knows Sly's real name or the fact that Sly has been legal for a long time." Bentley explained further. Murray nodded. Once Bentley was sure that Murray was ready to roll, he turned back to his laptop and picked up the unmarked prepaid phone Sly had given him...

**In the office of Paris Interpol's Quick Response Squad...**

The Quick Response Squad was also known within Interpol as the Dump. Any time-consuming, mind-numbing but necessary, or just plain aggravating jobs that the other higher officers could not (and often did not want to do) was usually assigned to an assistant or a Constable that was spending a rotation in the Quick Response Squad. The QRS was actually supposed to help alleviate the burden of the higher ranking officers and make Interpol more accessible to the public or the other agencies. The QRS was usually the first responders to an incident along with a free detective (an Inspector or higher ranked officer). Every officer that worked at Interpol had worked there at some point in their career. Some, unfortunately, never seemed to make it out of that dingy gray walled room filled with claustrophobic cubicles created by metal half walls.

Ian McGirth was one such unfortunate soul. He had been in the QRS for the last eight years while all of his classmates had gone on to be assigned to departments and some had even moved up to heading their own cases. One such illustrious classmate was Carmelita Montoya Fox. She had been the only female in the class. The guys had a great time making snide remarks, out of her earshot of course. But once they got into their classes and the tougher aspects of the curriculum they found out Ms. Fox was no pushover. She quickly jumped to the head of the class. Most of the guys were forced to put up or shut up. Needless to say, eventually every male had been silenced. While most of the other males had learned to carry a grudging respect for the vixen, Ian had not. He was thoroughly convinced that she had violated the natural flow of life. She was a woman; she should at home behind a stove somewhere.

With that thought the big coal colored bull shook himself awake. He had been dozing at his desk. He had been initially excited about this assignment. The Macavity firefight had been the most exciting case they had in the last couple of years. He figured that if he got a huge job during this case, he would be able to finally get out of the Dump and move on to being a proper officer. Interpol had suspected that Joseph Macavity was the head of France's main mafia gang with international ties. They also suspected that his daughter was just as ruthless and ran her own outfit. Any officer that had a hand in working this case was basically assured a spot in a department. At this point, Ian did not care which department he ended up in. So, when the firefight had turned into a bloodbath, Ian practically jumped at the next assignment that came into the room. Unfortunately, he became the tip collector for the case until, Carmelita and Carmen, who were heading the case together, came back from their paid leave. The top brass decided they needed a break after their father was hurt in the docks blast a few hours before the firefight took place. Then Carmelita was also one of the first officers on the scene at the firefight. Neither of them would be back in their office until Monday. Given that it was Wednesday, he was going to be stuck answering the phone like a damn secretary until she returned.

He had been told that he going to be temporarily in charge of the case until Carmelita returned. Initially, he had been thrilled. But then he discovered that it was his job was to filter thorough the calls and delegate the more promising tips to other officers and scrape the nonsense calls. He had answered at least 100 calls since he shift had started last night. It was barely 8:00 am, his shift ended at 9 am. The bull was ready to go home. He was about to get up and get himself a cup of coffee, when his phone rang again. He groaned, but reached over and picked up the receiver.

"Hello, this is Constable Ian McGirth with Paris Interpol. How may I assist you?" he practically growled into the phone. Then the bull realized that there was nothing but a dial tone on the other end and placed the phone receiver back into its cradle. He groused to himself, "I must be losing my mind!" Then the bovine heard the phone rang again, but this time he was paying more attention. He realized the ringing was coming from his pocket. He reached into his pocket and prayed that it was not his brother Fredrick calling to brag about his win last night. He put the phone to his ear and muttered, "Ian McGirth."

"Ian McGirth? First, are you alone?" a hoarse and deep voice asked. Ian frowned.

"Is this Eddie McGregor from IT, who you put you up to this? Scotts?" he asked getting really steamed.

"No." said the voice with a flat tone. "I am undercover agent David Lambert of la Sûreté. I need to speak with a... Lieutenant Fox. But I was told all of her calls are being taken by you. Is Lieutenant Fox unavailable? It is most urgent that I speak with her."

"Yes, she is unavailable... she will back on Monday. But how did you get this number? This is my cell phone, why not get Lieutenant Fox's cell phone number?" asked the bull suspiciously.

"I had, but she did not answer. I suspect that she is distrustful of unlisted numbers. I have had a major break in my case and need assistance closing it." said the voice.

"I can only take note of what your call was about and give it to her on Monday. Although, next time you should probably call Interpol directly and have another officer help you." he said, trying not to sound annoyed or bitter about being Carmelita's page boy. He did not want to get another write up for failing another secret phone etiquette drill or failing to be courteous to the other law enforcement branches in France.

"Damn it! I was this close!" the voice swore. The bull's interest was piqued.

"This close to what?" asked the bovine with barely concealed interest.

"To catching Sly Cooper! I had solid intel that placed Sly Cooper at the Macavity firefight! He was after something! Damn it, without the cane we can't proceed..." Some small part of Ian was very suspicious of this agent. But this lone voice of dissent was completely drowned out by the other voices talking a mile a minute about finally being able to show all of Interpol and Carmelita Fox that he was always meant to be a top notch cop! Now if he could just wheedle some more information out this agent, he could put his plan into action.

"The cane found at the scene was assumed to be a fake since Sly Cooper has not been seen in nearly 3 years. Why would a fake cane matter to you?" asked the bull in a rather snobbish voice. He hoped that by irritating the agent, they might let something slip.

"That cane was not a fake! It was actually the real Cooper cane! There is an insignia on the cane that is unique to the thief! It is a stylized S!" snarled the voice. Ian smiled.

"Really? Well, I could just pop down to the evidence room and see for myself! What do you say to that, buster?"

"You can get into the evidence room?" the voice gasped skeptically.

"Yes, I can. Carmelita gave me the key codes herself!" he bragged. He realized a little too late that he should not have given that information out.

"You can help us then! You can get the cane for us! We have been instructed to pose as Bentley and Murray. Our appearances are very similar. We are required to rendezvous with Sly Cooper and arrest him while he is still weakened by his near escape from the labs. We needed a reason to draw him out, hence our need for the cane, Constable. We can make it worth your while..." A cynical part of the bull knew he was being bated. But the larger egotistical part decided that the opportunity could not be passed up.

"How so?" asked the bovine.

"Well, when we finally bust Sly Cooper, we will make sure the world knows who is responsible for his capture. Not to mention that Interpol will love the positive press from the thief's capture. You will probably get promoted highly." purred the voice. Ian's will caved, he was practically salivating at the mouth. He could see himself leading press conferences and accepting a Lieutenant's badge from the Chief.

"Where do you want me to meet you?" he finally asked.

"The usual drop point in the back of the old produce store. We will be waiting for you. You need to get out here within the hour before your shift is up. You need at least 15 minutes to be at your desk before your shift ends. This will keep suspicion off of you until the cane is returned at the end of the investigation." replied the voice. "You need to get in and get the real cane. Then bring it to us, we will go from there. You do understand that if you are caught in the process of taking the evidence, that we will deny ever speaking to you. You are officially in the black, Constable McGirth. You can either chose to ignore our plea for help and go on about your day or you meet us in the next 30 minutes. Good bye." warned the voice before a dial tone replaced the admonitory sound.

"Well, that was abrupt." muttered Ian. He looked around hoping to see a fluffy pink bunny or something else equally out of place so that he could be sure he was dreaming. After a few seconds of looking around wearily he finally looked down at the black flip phone in his hoof. He started when he noticed that his phone read 8:04. He swore softly as his mind raced at a furious pace as he debated whether he was going to take the man up on his offer or not. His practical side was still howling at him to think this through. He could definitely go to jail if he was caught, but he could be hailed as a hero if he managed to pull this off. When he looked back at his watch, he realized that it was now 8:10. It was almost time for Constable Mathers to take his daily illegal smoke break. Then the bovine got a devious idea. Mathers always took a bathroom break around 8:20 am. There was a restroom on the 3rd floor of the building; the smoke detector outside of the door had gone faulty. The Interpol Budget had been taking some cuts lately. Needless to say, it had not been fixed yet. However the one inside the restroom did work. All a person had to do was take the battery out and they had it made.

Pierre Mathers was a young lemur with a slight flippant attitude. He loved skirting the rules when he could. He believed it gave him a bad yet good cop aura and he thought it would attract women. He always used that restroom to take an illegal smoke break at 8:20. The evidence for the Macavity case was being kept on the 2nd floor rather than on the third. There weren't enough evidence personnel to catalogue everything properly, so a quick makeshift evidence room was created so that evidence could be loosely catalogued and stored until the major clean up was complete then all the evidence would be properly stored. Ian figured that he could replace the battery in the smoke detector and still have time to get to the second floor for the 8:30 am evidence check. That way he could be seen leaving the evidence room during the resulting fire alarm and not look exceedingly suspicious. Then he could check in for the head count and leave for "coffee" and still be back in time for to re-enter the building with everyone else. He grinned in devious satisfaction as he put the finishing touches on his plan.

Five minutes later, Ian was in the makeshift evidence room doing his usual cataloguing duties to make sure that all the evidence was accounted for at the end of the night shift. He had also politely if his fellow officers would like some coffee. He also made sure the battery in the smoke alarm on the floor above him was brand new. He was currently looking over the Cooper cane. It was being kept in a sponge lined case. The cane was a fine piece of work; it would fetch a lot of money on any market just because of its aesthetic value. He knew he did not have long to stand around gazing at the cane. He had gone through most of the new evidence before he went for the cane. He quickly placed the artifact in the briefcase he had brought in to work that day and shut before the camera could catch him. He finished his work in the evidence room and pulled the door shut a scant few seconds after the fire alarm went off. He swore softly as if he was irritated by the turn of events.

He followed the other employees down to the ground floor and out of the door into the weak rays of early morning's first light. He checked in with his supervisor, a rather heavy looking bobcat, with a usually genial nature, unless you were a criminal. Ian mentioned that he was heading out for coffee anyway and that he would be back in about twenty minutes. By this time, the bull had begun to get a little worried that someone would hold him up or see through his lie. He quickly made his way to the garage where his bright orange moped was parked. He took the matching helmet and placed it on his head. He placed the bag in his wire basket and the unhooked the bright blue bungee cord that was hooked around the basket and secured the bag to the basket before settling into the seat and driving off.

He looked down at his watch, it read 8:35 am as he waited for the light to change. And prayed that he would make it there in time...

* * *

*= Departement de la Sûreté/Sécurité Territoriale (Department of Territorial Safety/Security), commonly referred to as la Sûreté,is the French equivalent of the FBI the USA**.**

**Thanks for baring with me and my slow updates. I have a 2,000 word head start on chapter 19! Please review and don't get to vote if you haven't yet! Last but not least HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! Thanks again! See you next year! Here's a snippet:**

"So, wait... you're saying the heart that we put in Desiree is a perfect match for her and not Amarianni's?" blurted Sly...


	19. Chapter 19

Hellllooooo! I cannot believe I am _**through**_ with this story! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this that makes me so happy. Even though this story is over, this is by no means the end of the Strangers Like Ups saga. There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. I believe I have written out a story that you guys will enjoy. Also, I thought you all would be pleased to know that I have finished the first chapter of the Strangers Like Us sequel: Second Impressions as well as completed a significant portion of chapter 2. Before I forget, the **final **poll results are as follows:

**Naruto: 2**

**Kingdom Hearts: 5 **

**Stranger's Like Us sequel: 30**

**YuGiOh!: 0**

**Surprise Us: 11**

**So it looks like my main goals after wrapping of this fic will involve cleaning this fic up, working on the sequel and maybe a surprise for you all...** As a side note, I have a Kingdom Hearts fic in the works as well. The first chapter is completed and I am working on a second, so we will see about putting it up a little later.

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are the property of Sucker Punch, inc. except for Desiree, Nautica, Aubrey, Justin Whittaker, Sister Ann, Adolf Hisser, Margalo, Amarianni, and Aurora Vencinette, Mark, Shadow, Suzuki, Dr. Lamar Akimji, and Uta Amaya belong to me, and Carmen Fox belongs to Kitty Petro.

**Warning: **I have taken a lot of artistic license with Sly's past and the timeline involving the original Fiendish Five jobs and the Clockwerk parts caper. Please just be open minded and I will try to make this as intriguing as possible. This chapter starts where 18 ended.

**Chapter 19**

**Later on that day...**

Sly was moving slowly through the hospital. He had come in only to check on his hospital bound patients before heading back to his apartment and back to bed. Sly bit back a moan as he continued to force his belabored body through the aseptic and whitewashed halls of Paris Memorial Hospital. He was currently on the surgery recovery floor and heading to the hospital bed of one Margalo Vencinette. He entered the room with nary a sound despite his injuries. The older avian was sleeping peacefully and Sly looked over her vitals and determined that she was on her way to recovering from her ordeal and decided that he was in no condition to dawdle in the tropical bird's room and continued on to his next patient. He had slept most of the morning despite the major bombshell that his mother had dropped on him in the earlier hours, sleeping pills will do that to you. He slept until after lunch time and when he awoke, Bentley smarmily informed him that they had retrieved his cane with minimum difficulties and that the dupe cane that they had taken from the imposter a few years back had been put in its place... which the reptile hoped would throw Interpol off his trail for a bit, if not for good. He was amazed that the bovine had actually devised a plan that devious to get out of the Interpol building with the cane. But before Bentley could panic, Sly reassured his excitable friend.

"Easy Bentley, maybe he just had inside info that you did not. Jobs go smoother with inside information. He used it to his advantage. I mean, I did not wake up in an Interpol holding cell. So, I doubt they know if anything is missing... and even if they figure it out... McGirth will not say anything... because he could go down for abetting a criminal or he will continue believing the false story. Besides they will think it was a black market scheme. You know my cane would sell for millions on the black market. Either way, they aren't looking at me and I, for one, am ecstatic." The raccoon sighed as he continued down the hallway. He pulled himself from his reminiscing. He groaned miserably... if Sly was honest with himself, he wanted to be back in his apartment and in his bed. "Suck it up, Cooper! Well, Monroe anyway... Stop rambling!"He growled at himself as he continued on to Aurora's room. He actually smiled as his eyes finally latched onto those of Aurora Vencinette-Monroe, as she was called now, and the little bird smiled at him.

"Ciao (Hello), Signore Monroe." she sang, her warbling tone making her sound like she was giggling. He moved to the bird's side and sat down on the edge of the bed. The little bird shifted slightly. She was still a little weary of the raccoon but she always remained polite. She was not a direct patient of his but he had made it a priority to check on her at least once a day. Talking with the young girl revealed that she was intelligent and clever; a fact that almost had Sly cringing. If she and his daughter became close, they would definitely run him ragged. He talked with her briefly and checked that she was healing properly and left her playing with a doll that she had been given by one of the nurses. Finally, he headed down to the ICU to check on the slowly recovering Jorge Fox. The doctors had not been sure that Jorge was going to make it through the night.

Late last night, Jorge had went into cardiac arrest... they had barely got him back; not long after that he slipped into a coma and had remained that way. He was not surprised to see Carmelita sitting at her father's side. She nodded softly at him in greeting but returned to her silent vigil. Sly did not intrude on her space but he immediately looked at the chart in his hands and looked at the updates on Jorge's blood pressure and EKGs. They looked a little stronger but not much stronger than the night before. The numbers on the charts and the machines were holding steady, so Sly was thankful for small favors. He went up to the unconscious fox and uncovered his chest. He slipped the under the hospital gown and then placed the bell of the instrument against Jorge's heart... he listen for a few moments and then stood up straight and covered him back up properly. At that moment, Sly had to take a double take as Jorge Fox looked like his father for a moment. His face was pale and drawn. His eyes had sunk into his head... Sly jerked horror and when he looked back down, he just saw Jorge. "Hmm... maybe I should take a few more of those pain pills and not get back up for another week..." he thought wearily.

"So, what is prognosis, doctór?" Sly turned as Carmelita's quiet, spiced voice cut through the monotone white noise of the room's machines. He shrugged.

"We are still in the 'wait and see' territory. His vitals are steady and they are a little bit stronger than they were yesterday. Has the neurologist been back in today?" he asked.

"No, he hasn't." she answered. Then she looked at him, almost shyly. Sly was shocked, when it came to him, Carmelita was everything but shy.

"¿Estás ocupado?- I mean, are you busy?" she asked. Sly shook his head no, and said,

"No, but I was planning on visiting Des for a bit and then returning to my apartment to put myself back into a drug induced coma." Carmelita gave him a weird look that for the life of him, he couldn't decipher.

Carmelita was sure her face was confusing the hell out of Sly, because at the moment she was confused herself. Part of her applauded his sheer steel for coming into work after falling almost two stories. He may not have hit the ground but she knew that Adolf Hisser had to have put up a huge fight. She was sure Sly hadn't walked away from that unscathed. Then that started her thinking about the building caving in, which sent a jumble of emotions speeding to the surface that left her dizzy. First, she was severely concerned about his health and his injuries. After she looked at him properly, she realized that he was hunched over slightly and moving a little slower than he normally would. Then she was angry at him for working in his condition. But at the same time she relieved that he was alive for her to be angry at... she shook off her muddling and confusing thoughts and re-focused on her task. She had been doing a lot thinking today and there were two pressing matters she had to sort out now. One what was going be done about their daughter and finally, here she heaved a mental sigh, what was going to become of her and Sly.

"Oh, well I-I won't keep you long." she said, wincing at the hang up she had at the beginning. He nodded softly as he raised his arm towards the door. She got up and headed for the door. He followed her out and closed door behind him. They walked down the hallway together in a heavy, oppressive silence weighing between them. Why was it so hard for her to talk to man beside her? She had known this man for years and right now she felt like a teenager on her first date! She had no problem talking with him when she had meet him before. But now that her past had blended with her present... bringing along complicated and forbidden feelings. Before, she did not have to deal with the guilt and shame that came with admiring, respecting, caring for, and being attracted to Destin Monroe. However, as soon as Destin went back to being Sly Cooper... the guilt and shame came back full force. Then adding Desiree to the equation just gave her a headache. She sighed but continued walking down the corridor leading to his office. She swallowed a sudden lump in her throat when the door came into view. She felt her heart pick up speed as he unlocked it and held the door open for her. She woodenly stepped inside and sat heavily into the chair across from his chair on the other side of his desk. She started when he closed the door. "Stop it!" she scolded herself mentally. She had been so lost in herself reflections that she did not realize that Sly had moved across the room and seated himself at his desk.

"Carmelita?" he called softly. Carmelita was immediately brought back to reality. She almost started again, but she ruthlessly pushed that impulse away. But some of her annoyance at herself leaked into her voice.

"Must you do that?" she hissed at him. Sly looked confused but before he could say anything she cut him off. Her internal war with herself and her frustration with this situation erupted inside her and flowed out white hot and bitter. "Creep into my life and turn everything upside and then inside out! Leave my entire world in shambles and then leave as quickly and quietly! Then I have to put it back together and hope for the best, because... because I- I realize that my life is based on structure and order... and if that is disrupted in anyway, it is gone! I can't get it back! You stole that from me!" Sly's eyes were no longer confused or shocked, this time they were angry.

"Well, Ms. Fox welcome to fucking real world, dear! Nothing based purely on order can stand on its own especially if the structure set up against you! What about me? I was born in world that was already biased against me. Nocturnal creatures are not to be trusted... thieves... knaves! Die must alle zu Helle gehen (They must all go back to hell!) We have no need for them. Then I was born the son of the most wanted man of the decade. Then my old man kicks the bucket leaving me with nothing but his troubles and a life as a street rat! The orphanage was manageable; they cared about us at least. Then they got bought out by a rich pedophile... so I am sorry your inability to catch me gave your higher ups a political scapegoat to use at their discretion!" he bit out in a deadly hiss. Carmelita's blood turned into molten metal in her veins. His rebuttal just made her angrier and her mind refused to acknowledge that Sly had struggles, too.

"Real world? Yes, the real world has rules and regulations that must be followed or the world will not function! How dare you make light of my problems! Especially, all the ones you caused!" she nearly shouted, barely remembering that they were in hospital... with really thin walls.

"Ha! Problems I caused? If you remember, _dear_, none of the cases against me would have stuck anyway! The items in question had been returned to their rightful owners and no charges were ever formally filed... Interpol really just wants me for the press accolades and bragging rights! Plus, I have read the notes on you! It is no secret that they placed you on my case because they thought nothing but a wild goose chase. And that it would be funny to watch the new rookie struggle!" he sneered sarcastically. Shaun immediately regretted it once he saw the pain in Carmelita's eyes, at that point he wanted to kick himself. Guilt and shame festered and churned in his stomach leaving a vitriolic and nauseous feeling in the back of his throat. "Carmelita, I apologize for that, it... it was uncalled for." He finally looked down at the papers strewn around on his desk.

Carmelita swallowed hard. "Well, ole girl," she thought grimly, "Don't stick your hand in the fire and not expect to get burned." Sly's rebuttals had been quick and brutal, just like his fighting style... although it was also a lot more graceful than his social interactions with her lately. _... __But basically, it is just an act that I use to go along with the pseudonym. Sly Cooper is definitely different from Destin Monroe. But together, they make up the same person. I think every person has a pseudonym of themselves that they show to certain people... _But then again, maybe she wasn't talking with Sly, Sly she could say she did know somewhat... Destin, however, she did not know that well... but she knew either side of the man across from her spoke the truth. She was the agency scapegoat... that was her role, like many female officers before her. That or become the company token when press tidbits or extra funding were needed. They had laughed behind her back when she entered the academy. They laughed when she took on Sly's case but in end she had silenced them all. But it was hard to deal with some times. She just fooled herself into thinking she could take it.

"Sly, I apologize. I started it, I am just frustrated with everything... but I accept your apology." she said softly as she laid her hands on his in a gesture of good will. Sly nodded, but did not look up. He only continued staring through his desk. Then the next instant she felt herself leaving her chair and falling...

**With Bentley...**

Bensworth Jasper Bentley was sitting at his laptop in Sly's apartment going through as many of the Macavity files he had as he could. There was no point in over looking any potentially good information by not being thorough. But, Bentley knew that he was trying to avoid thinking about making a life-altering decision. He had been debating whether he wanted to stay in France and leave his American life behind or go back under the radar and disappear into the crowd of anonymity once more. He was making strong arguments in his mind for both. On one hand, he truly missed Sly and Murray. Having the two of them back with him had been great. Second, the thrill of a job was like a drug. Even though he preferred the quiet and relative safety of his Florida job, a small part of him had become addicted to the thrill of the job again. He did not know what he wanted to do anymore. As he was rifling through the files he saw three folder titles that caught his attention:

**Operation: Double Cross**

**Operation: Lucifer's Fall**

**Operation: Lucifer's Ascent**

"What the heck is this?" He blurted as he highlighted all three of them with his cursor. They had all been grouped together under a password protected folder called "Business Expansion". Bentley decided to look at the Double Cross operation files first, it seemed different from the other two. He scanned the folder with a few thorough virus protection programs before he opened it. One of the first things that the turtle saw was a video file. But what caught his attention was the date it was created. It had been a few weeks back, not even a full day after Desiree Monroe went into the hospital. He cautiously opened the file and was surprised to see that it was a video conference between Nautica Macavity and the members of the leaders of the Operation: Lucifer's Fall... according to the transcript that had been saved as a .txt file. Bentley read through the list of participants as he waited for the video to load.

_"List of participants: Representing the Operation: Lady Greed, Lady Sloth, and Lady Gluttony (not present because of logistics) and Lords Pride, Envy, Wrath, and Lust... representing the Neo-Macavity Corporation Lady Obsession (aka Nautica Macavity)..._ "

Once the video was fully loaded, Bentley watched it eagerly. At first it was nothing but a few pleasantries, but it quickly became interesting as the cabal of iniquitous felons start talking dirty deals. Apparently, Joseph Macavity had been approached by this group before his daughter was. But for whatever reason, he chose not to engage in whatever the group was planning. However, Nautica seemed to have no qualms about picking up her father's slack. As he continued to watch the video, he became thoroughly disgusted. Nautica was describing in minute detail how she had created a set of fraternal twins from the DNA she had collected from Sly and an anonymous mother. She went on to admit that the twins' mother was none other than Carmelita Montoya Fox. Bentley almost fell of his chair in shock. Did Sly know? Did Carmelita know? Bentley's head spun momentarily until he pulled himself back together and continued watching the video. The turtle almost threw up from disgust as Nautica went on to discuss how she had the healthy twin murdered and sent the heart to be used for Desiree's transplant. She was trying to convince them of what her work could bring to their operation. She also talked about how she had set up her father to fail. She had Amarianni Vencinette murdered at the hospital and then cut out the bird's heart to make it look like it had been taken to prevent the younger Cooper from having her operation. But it only was done to cause strife with her father. Bentley felt his skin crawl in his shell as he listened to the boorish and demented Nautica recount all of her sordid dealings with obvious pride.

He stopped the video for a moment, as tears started to cloud his vision and he needed a break before watching the rest of it. How many people had died because of the Macavitys? Her father blew up an amusement park full of families without a qualm and she murdered innocents just to further her own ends! It was a travesty against nature that those two demonic beings ever walked the Earth. But what Nautica Macavity had been able to produce scientifically was undeniably important and monumental, no matter how it was obtained. Bentley removed his glasses and wiped his eyes before replacing the spectacles and continuing to survey this new development.

From what Bentley was hearing, this gang was a shadow group, a group only known through rumor. The Seven Deadly Sins was its name. No one knew what their goal was but what people did know was that they had a vast amount of wealth and resources at their disposal. And that their retribution was violent. They were currently working on two major projects that they thought Macavity Corps under Nautica's direction could assist them with. Operation: Lucifer's Fall was a proverbial stint in hell, they were conducting unethical psychological and biological experiments on prisoners in various locations… fortunately, in Bentley's opinion, their reasons and methods for doing these heinous deeds were never discussed in the video. Bentley did not think he could stomach anymore gruesome details. They only discussed what Nautica could bring to the operation. She talked about working on helping her father modify a large wasp species from Japan, order to turn it into a biological weapon. She discussed using the gang's laboratories to create more as well as create toxins for them. She also listed a number of global compounds that were solely under her control as well for their consideration. Bentley was quaking in his shell. He was very glad that the merger between these two never got off the ground… the world may not have survived it. The turtle turned off the video and opened up a phone call screen. This program was custom made by him to bounce call signals from satellite to satellite regardless of who owned it. That way he could always be in contact with the team wherever they were. He put in a call to Sly and waited as the computer tracked his friend's phone. When it finally connected and the turtle saw his friend's location, he sputtered in shock.

**With Sly and Carmelita...**

Sly almost did not hear Carmelita calling his name. He woke up on ground... outside? He slowly sat up and glanced around. Finally, his tired brown eyes landed on the form of the harassed Carmelita Fox.

"Are you ok?" he asked groggily as the raccoon stumbled to his feet. "What happened?"

"I am fine! I have no idea what happened!" huffed the irritated fox. Sly took a look at the fox's put out face and chuckled weakly. Carmelita growled and Sly put up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Sorry... I just...ooohhh." Sly moaned as he sunk to the ground again. Carmelita surprised him with how fast she could move as she was behind him lowering him back to the ground before his knees had even bended completely. Sly closed his eyes and leaned against vixen's legs. He was desperately trying to get his head to stop spinning. His body had decided to make their grievances known again. His pain was not as acute as it was initially but he was hurting and now he was feeling dizzy and a little nauseous. That last unexpected teleportation seriously messed with his head.

"Sly!" huffed Carmelita as she was forced to take the full weight of the half breed on her legs. "Great! First, I get dropped in the middle of nowhere because this "new" ability of yours has decided to go nuts and now you want to use me as a pillow!"

"I'm sorry, Carmelita. This new power of mine is going to be a pain until I learn to control it." Sly grumbled as he continued to rest against the vixen. But at the moment his body was more concerned with sleeping than trying to discern where exactly they had ended up. Carmelita had looked down at the raccoon and was alarmed to find his eyes reeling in his head.

"Sly!" Carmelita called out as she knelt down behind Sly and tried to rouse him by dragging the doctor to his feet. "Ven conmigo, mi amigo." she encouraged as she turned around and headed in a direction that she hoped led to civilization.

As she started trudging through the trees, Sly laughed weakly and slurred out, "So now I am your friend!" Carmelita snorted in amusement but eyed the raccoon with concern. The former thief needed a doctor that was for certain. She could surmise that Sly had at least a mild concussion. But she decided that the best thing for her to do was to keep her companion somewhat alert and talking.

"Of course you are my friend!" she assured him as continued to support his weight by slinging his arm around her shoulder. The two fate-bound companions walked together as Sly continued to ramble.

"No I'm not! I am nothing but a pain in your tail!" he blurted. Carmelita almost laughed, but she bit her tongue. She would feel bad if she laughed at Sly now. Instead, her socially bumbling brain decided to put her foot in her mouth.

"You would make a terrible drunk." she joked. The raccoon beside her stiffened and hissed.

"I am not a drunk… that was my father!" Carmelita winced at the venom in Sly's voice. She realized that she had offended Sly and hastened to apologize.

"I'm sorry; I did not mean to offend you." The man sighed and waved her apology off.

"S'ok... should not have overreacted. But honestly, you have called me worse and I have had worse than your verbal evisceration." he stated matter-of-factly. Carmelita found herself flushing as her mind shoved memory after memory forward. She had to admit that she had said worse to the doctor. Then why had he become so offended by being called drunk? But she felt it would be rude to pry, so let the matter drop.

A heavy and awkward silence had fallen between them as they continued to stumble through the forest. The vixen continued to dwell on Sly's strange behavior; it was just rubbing her the wrong way. But why? Carmelita sighed. "What's wrong with you now?" the raccoon asked.

"Nothing," she huffed back. She looked him in the eyes when he made a noise of disbelief. "What? It's nothing... I just wish I knew who y- I mean where we were!" she blurted as she nearly caved in front of those piercing brown eyes. She flushed and looked away. Inwardly, she was cursing her slip of the tongue. But after her initial embarrassment died down, Carmelita realized that what she almost said was the complete truth. She was worried about who Sly really was underneath the bravado and flirty eloquence. Who was the man behind the mask? Carmelita was worried that the brash, flirty but honest, brave, and even funny thief that she had started to view as a close friend was nothing more than a facade.

"Hmmm... I suppose you really don't know me." mused Sly softly. He tried to cover up the disappointed sigh with a laugh. "Well, I can safely say I probably don't know you all that well, either. And wanna know the worst part? You are the only other person I can consider a friend... other than Bentley and Murray." Carmelita looked at him in shock. So, he considered her a friend as well.

"I figured I was just a nuisance." she mused sarcastically. Sly grinned softly.

"A nuisance? Never, an opportunity, maybe." He answered wryly. Carmelita snorted in a mixture of amusement and derision. "Not like that! I meant just an opportunity to be around you, someone that wasn't Bentley or Murray... or another belligerent, unintelligent wanna-be-thief or criminal. I swear dealing some of them made my IQ points drip out of my ears!" Carmelita actually laughed out loud that time. Carmelita was amused by the fact that Sly Cooper was an intelligence snob.

"¿Es verdad (Is that right?)? I would not have pegged you for a snob." snorted Carmelita. Sly smirked and then chuckled.

"Not really, I am not a snob, per say. It's just that... I am not a fan of stereotypes." he admitted. Carmelita stumbled momentarily. "You can let me walk now." She looked at him in disbelief. "Honest, I am ok." She looked at him a moment and finally let go of his arm. The raccoon stood up and continued walking forward. She followed quietly as she asked Sly,

"You hate stereotypes, yet you chose one as your mask?" offered quietly while the raccoon gave her a sheepish grin.

"Sometimes, you have to give people what they expect." he muttered as Carmelita eyebrows rose in question.

"So, give them what they expect, hmm?" she teased. Sly grinned weakly.

"Sure, I mean, the more an opponent underestimates you... the bigger the chance of you have of outsmarting them." Sly explained easily. Carmelita could not fault his logic, it was a sound strategy. She used it herself occasionally.

"So, you are not above using stereotypes to your advantage?" she challenged. Sly's muzzle wrinkled at the slight.

"Yeah, that doesn't mean I have to like it, though." he muttered through gritted teeth, snapping at the vixen out of annoyance. He was mentally trying to beat back all the taunts and jeers that he heard as a child and an active thief. But no matter what he tried, he could still hear the Contessa's cold contralto cutting into him verbally, faceless gangsters jeering about how he could never be as good as his father, the Fiendish Five's continuous sneers and threats rang in his ears, then countless other voices taunting him for being a half-breed and an orphan. The acidic mixture of pain and anger churned violently in his heart and he could no longer keep it to himself.

"You think I like being remembered as an immature, smart-aleck raccoon 'playing dress-up in his father's legacy'? Do think I like pretending to be anything like those jerks that used to terrorize my friends and me at the orphanage? Do you really believe that I enjoyed being stereotyped in school because I was a poor orphan kid? Or that I have no morals once so ever because I was nothing more than a back alley denizen!" his voice swelled with intensity as he ranted about his mental and emotional sufferings. The bitterness had formed a tart and taunt lump in his throat, his words were barely able to squeeze past it and came out sounding strangled.

"I can understand being frustrated about being stereotyped because you were an orphan or mixed, but the criminal stereotype is a problem of your own making. " Carmelita pointed out, unsympathetically. Sly almost growled in response but bit his tongue.

"Of course, you would say that! Tell me something, Carmelita. Think of one time where you had to totally fend for yourself, did you find yourself doing things you would have never done under normal circumstances? Did you feel like you had a choice? Looking back on it, was it 'a problem of your own making'?" he challenged, throwing her own words back at her. He watched as Carmelita turned contemplative. As he studied as vixen beside him, the raccoon sighed in resignation.

She was still the same old Carmelita; always seeing in black and white. No matter what he wanted, they could never work. He did care for her and would have loved to see where things would have led but they were too different. Both of them came from very different backgrounds. She was the beloved youngest daughter of a well-known police officer and he was the sometimes thought about son of a well known thief. She was and probably still was middle class; he had either been in hiding or poor majority of his life. Although, he was doing much better financially now. Then there was the obvious, for example, her being a pure breed fox and himself being of mixed heritage and breeding. He had been orphaned at 10 and living on the streets at 14. He had seen the injustices that the world heaped on minorities and the less fortunate first hand. Carmelita still stumbled over the well-known fact that the law books and life weren't always fair. There were too many differences between them for it work, unless they were both willing to understand where the other was coming from. He was pulled from his inner thoughts when Carmelita finally started answering his question.

"Yes, I did. I had to fend for myself, as you put it, after you got me framed for stealing!" she accused. Sly was surprised that he wasn't completely incensed by her accusation. If Sly was honest with himself, he was actually amused. Since he and Carmelita had first met, Shaun Monroe and by extension Sly Cooper, had done a lot of growing up. He had become a lot more mature and tended to turn the other check so to speak. However, Shaun also knew that Sly was still within him and he could be vicious when provoked. So, he tended not to stick around long after a particularly vile insult. However, this was a trivial and old complaint that he had come to terms with long ago. The only truth in the previous statement was that Neyla had seen an opportunity and took it. Could Carmelita still have been framed without the incriminating photo evidence? Probably, the picture just covered the Contessa's and Neyla's asses if too many people started asking questions. But Sly was going to behave as an adult and not start another pissing contest about it.

"Okay. First, _Neyla_ framed you. I know for a fact that every cop on that sting danced with at least one known criminal. Bentley has all of Rajan's publicity photographs from the event." Sly shrugged easily as he continued, "So, honestly, any lawyer could have argued that the charges were bogus or that at least everyone on that operation should have been charged. Neyla danced with me, too. And Bentley has that photo, as well. So unfortunately, I can't be a scapegoat for your troubles this time, mi mujer bonita (my pretty woman)." he finished lightly, vaguely noting that he was starting to sound more like his thief persona. He sighed at that, he was trying to get the vixen to see past that. "Besides all 'Sly' seems to do is make her... mad. " he complained internally as he watched Carmelita's eyes narrow and a hiss slither from between her pursed lips.

"I don't use you as a scapegoat! How dare you even-" she trailed off as her throat became full from a mixture of embarrassment and shame. As usual Sly had hit the nail on the head while managing to still remain perfectly civil and flirting with her at the same time! She wanted to call his bluff and verbally tear him a new one, but she couldn't. Why? Because that blasted raccoon was right. The Contessa had know all along that she was innocent and arrested her anyway. The insidious spider had planned to brain wash her and have her take the blame for the spider's misdeeds. Just thinking about what went on in that tower sent jarring shivers down her spine. Despite her discomfort, Carmelita's sense of honor demanded that she apologize to the man walking beside her. "Okay Carmelita, time to be a big girl and make nice… if the thief can do it so can you," she chided herself quietly. "I apologize for my outburst… you are correct. Neyla had me framed and I do use you as a scapegoat sometimes… and I'm sorry for that, too." she said contritely . Sly nodded.

"Apology more than accepted. And... I am also sorry for any trouble my shenanigans may have caused for you." he said, "But back to the matter at hand… you only answered part of my question. Well, Lieutenant? Are you going to finish?" he challenged . The vixen looked away, muttering something that sounded like "Apology accepted..." and something about silly raccoons getting her lost. Sly chuckled and nudged her gently with his arm.

"Bueno, Bueno… I-I didn't want to do it but I needed warmer clothes. My fingers were going numb and my lips were turning blue. There was a hunting shop not far from where I had gotten off the cargo ship in Canada. I-I stole the clothes I was wearing during my encounter with you and your gang in Canada." she finally blurted out. She tried to find the words to explain herself to Sly; but all she could do was finally admit to her crime. She, Carmelita Montoya Fox, had stolen $230 in winter gear. She had spent four days freezing; before she had to find new clothes and shelter. But, strangely enough despite her shame, she continued to talk.

"I didn't want to steal them but I did not want to freeze to death, either." She explained, " I survived for as long as I could before I started to contemplate stealing what I needed. I-I tried digging through the garbage and salvaging other peoples things. It was so humiliating!" she finally sobbed, Sly only nodded. He knew the feeling. The shame of slinking around garbage cans and searching for scraps... made you really eager to find cash. And that was before true hunger set in...

"I know what you mean," Sly said feelingly, "That point where you feel lower than dirt, but you are too desperate to care." The vixen wiped her eyes and looked up at him in surprise. "What? You think I was born a klepto? Or maybe I just woke up and decided I wanted to steal for the rest of my life? Fortunately for the rest of the world, I did not. Sadly, my thieving career started off more like yours did. We had been on the streets for a few weeks and we were starving. I stole three apples off of a man's fruit cart. I could barely even eat mine later, I felt terrible. When I finally got a hold off some legit cash... I paid the guy like ten times what the apples were worth. I am the last person you should feel you need to explain yourself to, Carmelita." Carmelita stared at the raccoon like she had never seen him before. It had never occurred to her that Sly Cooper may have been unwilling but forced to take part in his family's legacy. Part of her was dubious and another part wanted to believe him. Her mind started to play back her history with Sly and she began to notice that over the years Sly had grown more and more harried looking with every encounter.

"Surely, the great Sly Cooper cannot be saying that he does not..." and here she gasped mock disbelief, "like thieving!" She grinned as she watched Sly's muzzle twist cutely in offense. He fumbled for words before giving up and sticking his tongue out at her. She laughed.

"But in all seriousness, I don't like stealing from innocents... I never have. And yes, Ms. Technical, I know that my stealing is indirectly stealing from innocents... which, is why most of the things we stole were usually given back in one form or another to the original victims. We usually had reasons for going after a particular target." he explained deciding if she was in a sharing mood, he could return the favor. Carmelita, however, was still ever the skeptic.

"This is probable. But Mr. Cooper, I mean, Mr. Monroe... I believe you are avoiding my original question." Carmelita pointed out shrewdly. Sly smiled guiltily and sighed,

"I suppose I am. If I am being totally honest... if I had a choice between reading an Agatha Christie novel and stealing... well, I would choose the book." Carmelita actually felt a deep pain in her chest at the raccoon's admission. The Sly Cooper she had known loved what he did, loved that he could do it well, and definitely did not mind telling you so. But the person in front her was not that man. He could be a pleasant conversationalist but his usual demeanor was calm and unobtrusive unlike Sly whom always had something to say about everything. But both men had the same easygoing humor and sharp wit, though. Carmelita finally noticed that Sly or well Destin was waiting for a response. She wanted more information but did not know how to ask for the information she wanted without sounding selfish. Finally, she just settled on an almost pleading,

"Why?" She watched as Sly turned introspective as if he had never really pondered his reasons for not liking it. He sighed and then asked,

"Well, there isn't enough to keep me interested... enough to entice me to stay,_anyway__._" said Sly. "I mean, as a thief ... I was constantly on the run, chased down by wackos of the highest order, and no amount of money could replace sleepless nights and suffering nightmares that Stephen King would admire. On top of that, my job was completely and utterly thankless, I have stopped not one but three major terrorist groups, Lieutenant Fox! And I don't even get a military award or pension! At least you get paid for your work and some recognition, Ms. Police Woman of the Year..."

"You knew about that?" she blurted out. Sly nodded.

"Of course, I sent you the yellow roses, remember?" he said, "I just did not sign them. I figured you would think I was mocking you." Carmelita smiled.

"Well, thanks... They were pretty. But three terrorist groups? I will give you the Fiendish Five and the Klaww Gang, but last I checked... that's dos." Carmelita pointed out.

"You are more than welcome. And nope. Remember the job involving the Maiden's Tower and that Aventurine Asp statue? The guy was a financial backer of an Al Qaeda cell in Istanbul. He was auctioning the piece off as part of a fundraiser for one of the group's front organizations. The higher ups at Interpol were instructed to seal that information away, so that people would not panic. You were only involved because I was. They decided to charge the fool with fraud and just gave him a heavy sentence, in exchange for information. Unfortunately, he was dead within a few days of being incarcerated." Sly explained. Carmelita nodded, stunned.

"That is right. They said he was killed in a yard brawl. But in light of the new information, he was probably murdered." Sly hummed in agreement.

"But aside from those complaints... I had inherited a lot, well all, of my father's debts and problems. By the time people started calling in "favors", I was a scrawny, short fourteen year old desperate for cash and to survive. I was thrown in the middle of gang turf wars and underworld political grappling. By the time I was 15, I had a rap sheet a mile long. I felt trapped, who would give a 15 year old with a rap sheet a chance? Even with my _bacs_ already completed... the only place I felt I would be heading was jail. But, I did not want to remain tethered like some dog to the criminal kingpins, either. The only thing I felt could I continue to do was be a thief. So, I decided to give in and went looking for my family's book. And the rest is history, I went from being a two bit errand boy to being an internationally known Master Thief and I thought my fate was sealed." Sly explained in a rush. Carmelita's heart sank in sympathy. How many people were sucked in to the criminal lifestyle and then forever condemned to stay there because of law enforcement and government intolerance and unwillingness to see past their actions? Like she had been doing to Sly for years.

"I-I never realized that... you had it that bad, Cooper... I mean-" she stumbled.

"Shaun." said the masculine voice beside her.

"What?" she sputtered as she looked over at her walking companion.

"My name is Destin Shaun Monroe. But, most people that I consider my friends call me Shaun." he answered. Carmelita nodded.

"Ok, Shaun. Funny enough, that name fits you." she muttered thoughtfully. Shaun smiled. "But why give me Destin the first time we met?"

"I did not want to lie to you when I did not have to. Destin is my first name on both birth certificates... only the Monroe certificate is legal... it was signed first." he explained.

"Well, I guess I can appreciate your attempts at maintaining some honesty." said Carmelita lightly.

"But now that this walk down memory lane is finished, what exactly did you want to talk about initially?" Shaun asked.

"Desiree." She threw out and Shaun felt his heart plummet. He knew if it came down to a custody battle between him and vixen, he would lose. But he decided not to jump to conclusions and hear Carmelita out.

"Ok. What about her exactly? I am sure I know what you want to discuss but I just want to be sure we are on the same page." he said as he paused to rest his aching body, he looked up when noticed that Carmelita had stopped beside him. As he looked around, he started to get a weird sense of déjà vu. He knew this place but he could not remember why. He decided to put it in the back of his mind for now, he would remember eventually. He had an eidetic memory after all.

"It is official that she is biologically our daughter... but the situation between us is..." Carmelita started but Shaun completed it,

"...Complicated to say the least." Shaun finished before Carmelita nodded. They started walking again as Carmelita continued voicing her thoughts.

"Yes, but the last thing I want to do is fight you over her. After all, you have been taking care of her longer and my job is not exactly a desk job." She looked over at Shaun and he nodded in understanding,

"But, regardless, you want to be a part of her life?" he offered. She nodded and Shaun released the breath he had been holding. She did not want to fight over Desiree, but she wanted to form a working relationship in regards to her care. "I have no problem with that at all." he assured her quickly.

Carmelita picked up on the relieved tone in Shaun's voice as she could imagine he had been nervous about possibly losing his daughter. She could not blame him. She was well aware that if it came down to a fight between the two of them, she had the upper hand and simply because of Shaun's past. And Carmen had already made the suggestion and she had turned it down and she wasn't going to change her mind now.

"Yes, I don't want intrude on whatever routines you have established. I just wanted some time with her so that we could get to know each other was all." Carmelita said. She watched as Sly, no, Shaun studied the underbrush as he continued to work his way through the forest. He seemed more sure footed now and seemed to know where he was.

"Well, we could see about every other weekend. I work full weekend shifts every other weekend and that would be a huge help to me. I would not have to come home to a energetic vixen and I don't have to disrupt Bryan and Beatrice's lives when I need a babysitter. I would be willing alternate school breaks, too." He said as he continued pick his way through the woodlands before them.

"Is she that bad?" asked Carmelita curiously as she watched Sly-Shaun continue to slip between trees like a wraith. She followed along behind Shaun as she always did but she still wondered where they were.

"She is not bad, most days she is an angel... on a sugar high... and that's without the sugar." Shaun said over his shoulder as he continued to try to place where he was. These trees looked familiar and the scents of flowers and the water did, too. "It's just exhausting to come from the hospital and then have to take care of her for another 2 or 3 hours, clean up, and then crash just to get up and do it all again the next day. I love her dearly, but that does not mean I don't wish for a break." Carmelita grinned.

"Ok. That can work. You let me know your schedule and I will make sure I am off when you work. As for the school breaks, we can work with those as they come and she becomes more comfortable with me." Carmelita suggested. Shaun made a noise of agreement as he continued following a path he only he seemed to know or see. "Do you know where we are now?"

"I think so." he replied in an excited tone. As she shook her head and followed the raccoon through another set of trees, she abruptly came face to face with a clearing. It looked like a picture out of a nature magazine. There was a crystalline stream running through the edge of the clearing. As a matter of fact, the stream was a few feet in front of the two at the base of the hill they were standing on. Wild flowers dotted the soft viridian terrain. She could see the shadows of mountains in the distances. The sporadic trees that dotted the area stood proud and majestic. She could see birds and squirrels scampering around

the area and trees. Shaun turned to her with glowing eyes and an infectious grin.

"I take it you like this place?" she teased. His grin only got bigger.

"Yep! I lived here with my father. I never realized how much I actually missed this place." he admitted. He continued down the hill and Carmelita followed. "See, back in the office I was trying to calm down using visualization techniques... I was imagining this clearing! I used to play here as a kid. I have climbed almost all of these trees and I played hide and seek with the squirrels. This place made me feel happy and calm. I guess I got a little too caught up in my visualization." he explained, laughing. Carmelita could understand that. The clearing was definitely tranquil and beautiful. She could feel her own shoulders relaxing as she continued to amble along next to Shaun. They finally came to a simple wooden bridge that spanned the small stream. They crossed the stream and continued down a small dirt path, the first path that they had used. She frowned a bit, where were they going?

"Where is here exactly?" she asked.

"3 miles outside of -" Shaun was cut off as his cell rang. Carmelita was floored that he actually a signal out here. The doctor was, too, if his bewildered face was any indication. He looked at the caller id and muttered, "I should have known." He answered the device with a simple hello.

"What on Earth are you doing in Ussel?" demanded a familiar voice. If Carmelita was not mistaken, the voice belonged to one Bensworth Jasper Bentley.

"How on Earth did you call me from Paris?" Shaun replied. "I figured I'd never get any kind of signal out here."

"Signal acquisition software. I had to bounce the signal off three different satellites to reach you." Bentley grumped.

"Stalker," accused Shaun playfully. Carmelita snorted, but she decided a little teasing was due since they initially had no idea where they had ended up, but the turtle did.

"Now, if you are done name calling, why are you in Ussel?" the turtle asked sarcastically.

"Accidental teleportation... and I am 3 miles outside of Ussel to be exact." he corrected.

"Oh whatever! Actually, you are 2.977 miles outside of Ussel... " Sly huffed in irritation, but before he could give a retort, Bentley continued in a rush, "But listen... Carmelita did us a huge favor by putting Nautica Macavity out of commission." Sly frowned.

"Explain." he ordered.

"You remember that Nautica and Carmelita got into a huge altercation with each other? I am assuming she knocked her out and the vixen died when the building collapsed. But anyway, she had been planning a merger with h a group called the Seven Deadly Sins. Sly, these people are twisted and with Nautica's genetics labs, money, and operation at their disposal it would have been a disaster!" he said breathlessly.

"Well, thank God for coincidences then. Is there anything else?" Sly said.

"Definitely... but it is not so good news." Bentley warned. Sly felt worry settle in his gut like a stone.

"Well?" he prompted the turtle.

"Well, first Desiree's real mom is... Carmelita." he whimpered. Sly almost wanted to laugh at the fear in the turtle. But chose to continue the conversation.

"I know she is, Bent." he replied.

"How?" the turtle blurted.

"No need to worry, old boy." Sly said easily. He did laugh this time as Bentley growled in frustration. "So, what else ya got?"

"Desiree wasn't the only successful implant." said the turtle, "She had a twin."

"What do you mean she had a twin?" asked Sly fearfully, although the raccoon could guess why.

"There was another surrogate mother... anyway, the twin was identical to Desiree in every way, save her heart... it was completely normal..." stated Bentley. Sly felt sick and then angry as the implications settled in his mind.

"So, wait... you're saying the heart that we put in Desiree is a perfect match for her and not Amarianni's?" blurted Sly. Bentley was floored by how quickly his friend came to the correct conclusion.

"Unfortunately, I mean not unfortunately for Desiree..." Bentley sputtered. Sly just sighed and shook his head.

"I get you! But still... just... damn!" Sly cursed. Carmelita gave him a look and Sly just signaled for her to give him a moment.

"Yeah, I'll say. See, Nautica had Amarianni killed because she wanted to give her old man a hard time... not just for the operation." Bentley explained.

"Crazy bitch!" Sly hissed. But, unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done about it now. "Listen, I have to find my way back. I will talk to you later on."

"Ok, till then. If you need help, let me know." said Bentley and he hung up. Sly sighed and hung up as well. He filled Carmelita in on what Bentley told him as they continued to walk towards the remnants of his childhood home. The two companions finally fell silent as the charred remains of the cabin came into view. Carmelita felt another twinge of sympathy for the man beside her. So much misery and death made up his life. His father's death, his mother's absence, street life was no picnic, and now this other little girl's life was on his conscience. Carmelita despite her misgivings about his past occupation, felt her respect for Shaun shoot up. If he could grow up to be a decent guy after all that then he was someone that had to be admired.

"You know, this feels surreal." she finally admitted as they stood solemnly in front of where the front door used to be. All that was left was the door frame that had been burned black with half of the wall on either side that had not consumed by the flames. The whole scene had a sense of vagueness to it. The scorched wood and ashes felt almost obscenely out of place among the emerald blades of grass and the vibrant rainbow of colors sported by the wildflowers around it. Two vines of sapphire flowers had started to grow up the frame of the door on both sides as if to the defy the edict of death established there by the senior Cooper's demise.

"Really? How so?" muttered Shaun flatly.

"I have read your file so many times that it is practically imprinted on my eyelids... and yet it never felt... real. Until now. It never occurred to me that-" Carmelita searched for words for her thoughts but Sly completed them for her.

"We are real people. With feelings and lives outside of breaking the law. That we can care about each other and other people. We are not just cases to close and foes to stop. We are no longer outsiders or 'others', the one dimensional things that people can dismiss from their consciences. We are living beings that have to be at least recognized as a person and treated as such. My father was a father just like yours was and he died to protect me, just like Jorge was willing to do for you and for Carmen. Just like I am willing to do for Des." whispered Shaun in an adamant tone. But what made Carmelita cringe was that his tone held no accusation or blame just fact. Carmelita did not respond just let Shaun's words resonate within her spirit. After a few more moments of silence, during which Carmelita thought she heard Shaun praying and she said a few words of prayer herself, they finally left the site. As they were leaving, however, Carmelita bumped into the mailbox. And the cover finally fell off of its rusted hinges. Sly looked in it just for the sake of doing so and found an envelope. It had 'Shaun' written on the front of it. Shaun stared at it in bewilderment, but shrugged before opening it. He took out a thrice folded letter that was two pages long and quickly opened it. It read:

_Dear Shaun,_

_I saved this for you. James has the map. I shall guard the assets until you are ready to claim them. Be careful, brat! _

_-Maurice_

"What in the heck does this mean?" mumbled Shaun. He flipped to the second page and blinked in shock. It was a riddle. Could this be the riddle his mother had been trying to steal back from Joseph Macavity? Who were James and Maurice? They did not seem to have names that were found in the village... not that he could recall. And what map? Shaun sighed, everything in his life was about some kind of drama. He placed the letter and riddle back into the envelope and put it in his coat pocket.

"What was that about?" asked Carmelita.

"Nothing important." Sly replied evenly. Carmelita eyed him like she knew he was lying but she said nothing for moment.

"How are we getting back?" Carmelita finally asked. Shaun looked at her and grinned,

"No worries, I think I figured out the trigger for the teleportation. It's all about intent."

"I don't know how I feel about that Shaun." she hedged. Carmelita was a little wary of teleporting again... after all teleporting got them into this mess. The raccoon continued to give her that crazy grin. Now that she thought about it, the thief usually had that goofy grin on his face when he was about to do something unpredictable. "Shaun..." she said warningly.

"Oh? Well, let me know how you feel about it in a bit." he said slyly before scooping her into arms and then disappearing. Carmelita could only curse him in her head as they fell. But before she could blink they were standing in Shaun's office again. Once she was sure she could stand on her own feet, she reached up and him smacked on the back of the head.

"Idiot!" she grumped before opening the door and walking out of the office. She could not stop the grin from spreading on her face when she heard him laugh in response...

**A few months later...**

Carmelita pulled her jacket tighter as she walked across the parking lot. She adjusted the packages under her arm as well. The wind was biting her cheeks and looked like it wanted to rain, too. Honestly, it was just another typical November day in Paris. It was November 26th, to be exact and she was running late. She finally stepped into the building and sighed in relief. The sound of small explosions reached her ears. She looked up and smiled softly as she noticed that two little girls had rolled strikes sending their pins crashing to the ground. One was in a decked out in a short sleeved t-shirt style dress green cotton dress with a black butterfly stitched on it over a long sleeved black shirt and black leggings. Her wild ruby, emerald streaked hair flying all over as she raced to hug the other girl in congratulations. The other girl was wearing a red sweater underneath a blue jean jumper. Carmelita went to the counter and briefly spoke with the cashier before heading over to where the girls and others were congregated. She watched as the two girls made a beeline for an older gentleman while chattering about their recent achievement. All and all it looked like a family out bowling, which is was exactly what it was.

It was Aurora Vencinette Monroe's birthday and the little bird was turning seven today. Desiree Monroe and she were currently giving their father, Shaun Monroe, a blow by blow account of their nearly simultaneous strikes. Carmelita watched as Shaun smiled and indulged them in their excitement. As she got closer to the group, Shaun looked up and smiled happily at her. He waved at her before speaking to the two imps in front of him. Both girls whirled around and gave squeals of delight when they caught sight of the sable haired vixen. She braced herself as both girls practically launched themselves at her with cries of,

"Momma!"

"Ms. Fox!" She laughed.

"Hello, you two." she said as she handed the packages she had been carrying to Shaun, who had followed the girls over at a more sedate pace. She then knelt down and hugged both girls. "Happy Birthday, little miss."

"Thank you!" chirped Aurora. Desiree just snuggled further into her mother's side.

"Carmen sends her birthday wishes as well, Aurora. She had to work today and could not make it. But, she sent a gift with me, though." she explained after the girls had asked about the older vixen. After a few more minutes of idle chitchat, she sent the children back to their friends to continue their game. She then walked over to where Shaun was sitting down watching the ten little girls play while their mothers gossiped nearby. She shrugged out of her flannel coat, slung over the back of the orange plastic chair and took a seat.

"Hi Carmelita, was traffic ok on your way over?" Shaun asked kindly. She shrugged.

"It wasn't terrible. But the weather is." She said, shivering.

"Would you like some coffee or hot chocolate? It may warm you up." Shaun offered. She politely waved him off,

"No thanks. I am ok for now. If I am still cold later, I may get something." But as she said this she scooted a little closer to the raccoon, he put his arm around her, and held her. Carmelita sighed. She still wasn't sure what exactly where the two of them stood but they had gone out a couple of times and she had enjoyed his company on all of them. But he was not pushing her to commit to anything that she was not comfortable with. For that she was grateful; but over the last few weeks she was becoming a little more comfortable with the idea of a having steady thing between them. However, for now, they were working together to raise Desiree and by extension Aurora. As she thought about her daughter, she looked over in time to see Desiree do a little impromptu dance of celebration as another one of her friends made a slow strike by pushing the bright blue ball down the center with both hands. She and Shaun laughed at the energetic vixen's antics.

Shaun could not help the joy and pride that flooded his heart at the sight of his daughters enjoying the party with their friends. He no longer had to live in fear that Desiree was going to perish at a young age. The transplant back in July had been a complete success. She had been brought out of sedation eight days after the surgery and had been doing well ever since. She had healed up well; although she was not too crazy about the scar on her chest. She did not even like to wear tank tops or certain types of t-shirts. Shaun figured that she may come to accept it in time. Aurora was doing well, too. She sometimes cried over her mother's loss and asked about her. But the little avian had quickly settled into the family. She and Desiree were inseparable and loved to stir up mischief if they were left to their own whims too long. Shaun just took it all in stride, after all, they were only seven. He turned his attention to the beautiful vixen beside him as she sighed.

"How did she talk you into the color green, of all things?" asked Carmelita. Shaun snickered.

"She did not talk me into anything. We agreed if her grades were good, she could chose a temporary color. It will wash out in two or three good washes." he answered easily. He was not sure whether it was from the stress of the incident that hospitalized her or if it was from her weird genetics but her hair had faded to white in some areas and continued to grow that way. Desiree complained bitterly that it made her look like an old lady. So, usually every now and then it was usually colored to match the rest of her hair. However, Desiree constantly wanted to put different colors in her hair. Shaun was not to crazy about the idea initially because he felt it made her seem a little older than she was. But after seeing what other moms did with their daughters, putting them in heels, make-up, and bikinis for pageants and such... Shaun decided a few streaks would not hurt her. And if anyone did not like it, well, that was their problem.

"So, she going to do this every semester?" asked Carmelita warily. Shaun immediately shook his head.

"No! Honestly, We also agreed to go without the color for a while after this. I am worried it might damage her hair, given that she is still growing." admitted Shaun. Carmelita nodded in response. The vixen was not completely medieval in her thinking; but she was not keen on everything kids, especially girls, were doing nowadays. "So, what is new with you?" asked Shaun. Carmelita hummed as she thought for moment before she responded,

"Nothing much. Still debating about whether or not I am leaving Interpol." Shaun nodded as his eyes wandered back over to where the girls were still playing. They had engaged in this discussion before. Carmelita was growing tired of the political grappling that went on in the organization. Most of her resentment came from the raw deal that Jorge Fox was handed after the Macavity incident. The older fox had remained in a coma for a month or so before finally rejoining the land of the living. He was still pushing through rehab, but he was recovering. A glass eye had replaced his missing left eye and he now walked with a cane. He had also had a few skin and fur grafts done to help with the burn scars as well.

Interpol decided that they would not charge Jorge Fox with any crimes but that they would serve him an honorable discharge instead. Carmelita and Carmen were both furious on their father's behalf, especially once it was known that a lot of the other dirty officers were either shunted to the QRS or jail for a few days if they weren't true cops. For example, Rochelle was found guilty of falsifying documents and credentials but she served 15 days of a 30 day sentence in jail and did a few hours of community service before being reunited with her family. The defense sighted her family's kidnapping as the driving force behind her crime, therefore she got off with a light sentence. When the Fox sisters pointed out that Jorge Fox had to deal with the same stress, Interpol insisted that it could not be sufficiently proven that Jorge was forced by Justin's presence to work for Macavity. In other words, Justin's role as an assassin could not be proven, therefore Jorge could have been lied to... leaving the older fox to take the blame for believing the lie. Interpol insisted that they were honoring Jorge's service by giving him the honorable discharge which allowed him to keep his retirement pension, but it was a pittance in the face of all the medical expenses that had accrued because of the explosion. While most of the expenses were covered by the national insurance policy, the rest had to be paid by Foxs and it was no small amount.

Jorge Fox, however, was quite humble in his punishment. He understood what he did was illegal and was willing to pay whatever price was set before him. Shaun actually admired the fox for that. Jorge had finally convinced most of his family to let go of their bitterness regarding the sentencing. But Carmelita had seen one betrayal too many and was deeply debating whether staying with Interpol was worth the heartache.

"Well," Carmelita said as her eyes joined his in staring at the gaggle of children. "What is your opinion? I have heard from everyone else."

"Well, if I were still active... I would say, 'No! Please don't! I would be bored out of my mind... after running complete circles around the rabble that is left, that is.' " he said flippantly. He was pleased to hear Carmelita's mellow laughter drift into his ears. "But, seriously? Do what is going to make you happy. I know it sounds contrived and simple. But trust me, it's not." said Shaun as he looked at Carmelita.

"Oh really?" she said with a skeptical smirk on her muzzle. Shaun was nonplussed and nodded.

"It is easier said than done, but you will better off for doing so. If working for Interpol and busting the bad guys makes you happy then do it! If not... here's the hard part, walk away." he said simply. "Find what makes you truly happy at the core of your being and go for it. People may not support you, you may fail at first, but you will wake up more willing to give your all to what you are trying to achieve. " Carmelita stared at the raccoon beside her in shock. He always managed to surprise her with his wisdom, even though he was almost 4 years her junior. But then again, he had been through a lot more than most people did in the same amount of time of being alive.

"How did you become so wise, Shaun?" Carmelita asked. Shaun smirked at her insolently before saying,

"The hard way." Carmelita was under no delusion that the raccoon was joking, either. While they never discussed either of their pasts in complete detail, she had picked up enough evidence from sporadic conversations to make a strong guess that things were tough for the man.

"Well, I will take your advice on board. But what's going on with you?" she asked, deciding it was time for a change in conversation.

"Things are going well. My residency is still... _going_." he half-moaned before grinning, "But it will end sooner or later." Carmelita just shook her head at his antics. "They are choosing chief residents soon... I am a little nervous about that. Des is still going to the doctor for her weekly appointments and everything looks good, so I am hoping that we can go to monthly visits soon. Because Des is growing tired of the constant office visits. Just last week she threw a tantrum about going, and by the time the visit ended _I_ was ready to throw a tantrum." Shaun sighed. Carmelita frowned.

"I hope you disciplined her." she said. Shaun nodded.

"I did. But not too severely. I know her tantrum was more out of frustration than any real need to cause a ruckus or get her way. The visits are long and her chest is still healing and sore from time to time and the doctor will poke and prod at it and make her cough... so by the end of the ordeal she is tired and cranky. And as a result, she is never excited about the next visit. So, I can't blame her if she throws a fit every now and then." explained Shaun. Carmelita nodded and decided trust Shaun's judgment on the matter. She still felt a little off kilter about raising Desiree, after all she was just getting used to being a parent and getting to know Desiree.

"Maybe I should join you one day. But, you? Nervous? I don't believe it." she muttered as she watched Murray get up from his seat and amble over to the concessions stand. Carmelita still had trouble wrapping her head around how much things had changed in past four almost five months of her life. She was sitting in a bowling alley watching Murray, the notorious strongman of the Cooper Gang, carry two cheese pizzas back to two long tables decorated with pink tablecloths and balloons. As she continued to look around, she spotted Margalo Vencinette talking quietly with Bentley as they watched a news report on one of the big screen televisions that were scattered throughout the alley. The avian had recovered from a gunshot wound to the chest that would have ended her life, if not for Shaun Monroe's quick work. While the avian was technically still Aurora's aunt, she decided that she would leave Aurora in Shaun's care as per her sister's wishes, but she was a constant visitor to the Monroe household. In the meantime, she was working to rebuild her father's business. But if that wasn't strange enough, she was just watching them; not making any arrests. And even stranger still, she did not want to. These people were no longer strangers and criminals, they were quickly becoming... friends.

"What? I can't be nervous? Chief Resident is a big deal, especially at one of the biggest for profit hospitals in France." said Shaun in his defense. Carmelita laughed.

"I guess, that is worth being a little worried about. I was merely teasing as I had never seen you nervous about anything." Shaun just stuck out his tongue out her and replied,

"I must have been a better actor than I thought, gorgeous." He touched her cheek as he finished speaking and she just leaned into his touch. And speaking of strange... Shaun... that man was a conundrum by himself. She was definitely falling for him, and what girl wouldn't? But, she had been trying to arrest this man for almost 9 years now and here she was practically glued to his side. She was surprised how easy it had become to call Shaun by his given name. There would be moments that she would forget that this man had been the notorious Sly Cooper, before he had become the father of her child. But then there were also jarring reminders of the thief as well. But she was finding that the reminders were becoming less like obstacles and more like parts of who Shaun was. She was worried by that, it meant that Shaun had become more than a thief to her and she was running out of excuses not to love him. She sighed aloud. Shaun looked at her in concern, but she shook her head as if to say nothing was wrong. She watched as the concern faded and was replaced with a knowing gleam as if he knew she had been thinking about him. Carmelita just smiled ruefully, he probably did. She became wary when his knowing look turned into a crafty one. What was that raccoon about to do now? He leaned towards her placed a soft kiss on her lips and Carmelita did not hesitate to respond. Oh, who was she kidding? She was hooked. She sighed as they broke apart. They heard the girls' excited voices grow louder as the girls rushed passed them to get to the pizza on the other side of the stairs. The two stood and followed along behind the children. She could not help but laugh as she watched the gentle giant Murray nearly be toppled over by the enthusiastic munchkins.

While the last few months had indeed been rough in some places, Carmelita would not change a thing. She learned a lot about herself and other people, as a result, she felt she had become a better person. Just being at this party was a primary example. At this time last year, she would have been sitting at home reading a book. But instead she was surrounded by new friends and family and loving every minute of it. After all, she learned that it only takes a little effort to turn strangers into friends...

**A/N: WOOOOOOOO! I am finished! I am so happy! Thank you so much for all of your support! Ok, editing wise... this may not be my best work. So, if the dialogue is muddled, let me know. Second, I know I had a field day with Sly's name... if it was too much let me know and I will rework it in the revised version of the fic. Thirdly, don't expect the sequel to be posted until July. I need to rework this fic badly, complete the layout the plot for the second fic, get a better head start so that you all will not have to wait so long for updates once the sequel is started, and tons of other fics to work on so it will be a while. Also, please go to my profile and vote on my newest poll... I want your input for my next fics in this universe. Finally, please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the fic (characters, plot, etc)... this will help greatly when reworking the story and working on the future ones! Thanks to everyone for all their reviews and private messages!**


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